This picture was taken within miles of our destination the day we were supposed to be there.
Divine intervention, or not? You decide.
Fast forward 2 months and her rescheduled OIT initial escalation day has arrived! We drove up on a Monday, along with every single snowbird fleeing Florida as the summer heat arrives (and the north begins to thaw). Sydney has been getting quarters every time I "gently speak instructions on how to improve driving skills" to my fellow travelers. At the end of the day, she was $347.50 richer.
We arrived at Dr. Nash's office at the crack of dawn (especially from the perspective of a homeschooled night-owl teen). He had asked us to arrive early in order to get us started before the office got busy. I was proud of Sydney for pulling it together and rolling out of bed at 7:30, especially after all that travel and a late night online with friends. I was less thrilled when she told Dr. Nash her April Fool's joke (because, yes, the appt. was April 1st) was going to be to fake her own death.
Sylvia, Dr. Nash's RN, was out for the day. This meant that Dr. Nash administered all the doses himself which I don't think is typical. It gave me a chance to ask him every 15 minutes, "So, she's OK right!?!?!?!?!? RIGHT!?!?!?!?!?"
Sydney took her first dose at 8:30 that morning. And by "dose" you know I mean peanut flour, right? Just sit back and let that sink in for a second......
Sydney ATE peanut!
Yeah. Uh-huh. No biggie. I was as coooool as a cucumber. Ahem.
That first dose was .1mg of peanut flour. That one I remember. The rest became a blur. She ate that poisoned applesauce like nobody's business and DIDN'T DIE! WooHoo! Then 15 minutes later, the devil/saint came back in the room with another DOUBLE sized dose. Yep. She had to down poisoned applesauce at least 6 times that day and build up to 3mg in order to undergo OIT.
Sydney experienced no symptoms or reactions with the first or second dose and I was feeling rather cocky. Then, after she took the 3rd dose, she got a stomach ache that just wouldn't go away. Damn peanuts!
Dr. Nash delayed more dosing to assess what would happen. He wasn't concerned and though he said all kids are different, this really wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Deep breaths....
After an hour, he and Sydney discussed how she felt and she said she was ready to go for the 4th dose. I was so proud of her. I suspect that must have been one of the hardest decisions she's ever made. The fear of the unknown can be crushing. But she pushed through and soldiered on. She is truly my hero.
The 4th dose caused a few more stomach pains but it never got alarming and symptoms like swelling, throat scratchiness, and hives never manifested. By 11am my girl had DONE IT! She powered through those 6 doses and reached the all important 3mg dose. She decided to stop there because of her stomach and I support that decision 1000%. After waiting 2 hours for observation, Sydney was allowed to leave. Her stomach pains completely cleared by the afternoon.
The next morning we returned to Dr. Nash for Sydney to take her first daily dose. All she had to do was take one dose of the 3mg she ended on yesterday. I don't think I've ever felt such a HUGE sense of relief as I did when her 2 hours were over that morning and she'd had NO reactions at all! The day was made even brighter because Sylvia was at work today and helped take care of Sydney.
Sylvia giving Sydney her 3mg dose on the 2nd OIT day.
After her time was up, we were headed home. Funny thing about this OIT thing though. You have to actually eat peanut every day. That meant I had to bring peanut flour doses home with me. In my car. In my house. I started to twitch when Sylvia handed me the bag of little dose cups. But if Sydney can be brave enough to actually EAT the stuff, I decided I needed to get over myself and deal.
(It took 2 1/2 days after we got home, but I'm almost OK with it being on my counter now. Almost.)
Our drive back to Florida was uneventful and less profitable for Sydney. The snowbirds weren't headed south and she only made $9.25. We both felt good about the drive and the time it took. I'd been worrying that two back-to-back 9 hour drives would be the death of us. With the exception of missing out on a few teen events back home that caused acute and piercing pain, we survived.
And so that's it. The story ends.
Hahaha. I wish it could be so easy! No, now came the hard part. (Because, you know, the last 2 days were a piece of cake!) Now my job is to give Sydney daily doses of poisoned applesauce without Dr. Nash being within 20 feet to hold my hand. But I put on my big girl panties, Sydney rolled her eyes at my dramatics, and she sucked down that first at-home dose the next morning like it was manna from heaven, sort of. And you know what happened?! Ab-sol-ute-ly nothing.
3mg of peanut flour
4 days later and her morning doses are still utterly boring. Boring is good!
