CURED

Yeah, I just used that word. CURED. I never dreamed we would get here. And yet three and a half years after we began our OIT journey, here we are. After nearly three years in maintenance for egg OIT, eating an egg every single day,  Brendan avoided egg for thirty days. No dosing. No deviled eggs. No donuts. Then he walked in to Dr. Silvers' office on September 25th and ate an egg LIKE A BOSS. Actually, it was much less dramatic than that-- he ate an egg in a graded food challenge over the course of about four hours, LIKE A BOSS. We brought donuts for the staff and celebrated with Dr. Silvers.

LIKE. A. BOSS.

The shirt says it all.

I don't toss around the word CURED very often. When telling others about OIT, I always mention that daily dosing will happen for years, possibly decades. I tell folks that their kiddo will be desensitized, not CURED. I never want to set the expectation that OIT CURES kids. Until one day it does, and the kid it CURES happens to be your own.

So, I've been throwing that word around like confetti. Brendan is CURED from his egg allergy. He only has to dose two or three times a week. He gets to pick the days. Every morning I get to ask him if he *wants* an egg. He's loving the freedom to be able to choose. Plus, he still gets to eat whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. No more food allergy life for this kid.

I threw the CURED word in Dr. Silvers' direction that afternoon, too, along with a hug and a few tears. Thanks for CURING my boy, Dr. Silvers. When other allergists sent us home with an Epi script and told us to avoid, you sent us home with a bottle of egg white solution. When others drew yearly labs that always seemed to increase, you faced our allergies head-on, and thanks to the science of desensitization, willed those numbers down. When others gave us hopelessness and sent us home in tears, you gave us hope AND tears-- tears of joy and relief.

Celebration time.
The guy on the left will tell you the kid on the right did all the hard work.
He's only partly lying.

So that's it. My kid is CURED from his egg allergy. He passed his hazelnut challenge, too, for those of you who are wondering, and only has to dose that one two or three times a week, too, but that's a story for another day. OIT has been a complete miracle in our lives. I can't sing its praises enough, and I will continue to talk about it to just about anyone who will listen. True Story.

So, if you're sitting out there with a list of food allergens, living the life of strict avoidance and trying to decide if OIT is worth it, just read this post one more time. In the end, OIT may not CURE your kid, but it will more than likely bring your kid FREEDOM. And who knows, maybe three and half years from now, you'll be throwing that CURED word around like confetti. Because OIT works. And TREATMENT or CURE, it can work on your kid, too.

Fall of 2017. Treated.

Fall of 2018. CURED.