Allergies...

Well, I've got an update on the fight for Alana's health. A couple of weeks ago, I sweet-talked our local doc into giving Alana the ELISA (blood test for allergies), and Monday night we got the results back...and they weren't good.

Heavy metals: Negative (cool!)

Allergens: Significant reaction to cats (yes, that's a problem...we're still working that one out)
Moderate reaction to mold (so I'll have to start monitoring the air quality)

Food Allergies (this is where it gets interesting):
Significant reactions to: cow's milk, casein, goat's milk, lactose, egg whites and kidney
beans
Moderate reactions to: hard cheeses, beef, gluten, wheat, egg yolks, green beans,
pineapple, asparagus, watermelon, nectarines, peanuts,
almonds, brewer's yeast, corn

Seriously, I feel like I've been hit by a bus. Life is turned upside down...again. So far, Alana's taken it pretty good. But she's already started thinking ahead...like will she ever have a birthday cake again? Right now, we're still on the "bean diet" so we haven't made many changes (except to eliminate some of those moderate reacting foods...cheese, green beans, beef, peanuts...as our goal is to take away every allergen we can to get her to a healthy place. The cats are a whole other deal. Barry, of course, wants the cats gone NOW. I've discussed with Alana that we can take some time to see if we can get her healthy enough so that we can manage her allergy to the cats. It has helped A LOT having her in her own cat-free room, with an air purifier. Then we got another air purifier for the living/dining room. We've discussed having the girls keeping their stuff picked up so I can vacuum & sweep daily. And we're going to attempt "bathing" the cats 2 to 3 times a week (that's supposedly supposed to help keep their dander reduced).

I does help having a place to start from in our attack. We're waiting to see just how much we just spent on this test, and if we can swing it, we'll run the same test for Erin. Who knows...she could have food allergies that affect her glucose levels. Regardless, life has changed for us here, yet again. Our choices are now very limited...but that could be a good thing. A total overhaul will be a good thing.

Right now, as overwhelmed and lost and sad as I'm feeling, all I can do is place my burdens and worries in God's hands. And trust that He really does not give us more than we can handle.