Milk, eggs and puppies...Oh My!!

For those of you who don't know we recently found out that our son, Killian, is allergy prone. We started to piece together some of the puzzle when he was around 6 months old. It all started when I bought some baby cereal, but I got a special "nighttime" version. I didn't bother to look at the ingredients and honestly I bought the "nighttime" just because the picture was cute and I thought it would maybe be a slower to digest formula or something. What else would I base my choice on??? The first time I fed it to him he pretty much refused to eat it and instead rubbed it all over his face, in his eyes, it was everywhere! I laughed and started to clean him up and figured we'd try again another day. As I was cleaning up I noticed red marks appearing on his face and his left hand, the one he'd used to swipe the spoon away. It seemed to me that these were hives indicative of an allergic reaction. I thought it seemed very odd for him to be allergic to baby cereal, but I called the doctor's office and explained and they recommended Benadryl. As my wee one was sleeping in his drunken stupor I checked the ingredients and noticed "whey" listed as an ingredient in the offending cereal. I mentally filed this and proceeded to basically ignore it but I did start checking all ingredients and making sure that Killian was never given anything with a milk based ingredient.

A few months later I was making homemade mac 'n cheese and holding my fussy little creature while I stirred. Once I needed two hands I sat him down to play near me and finished the pan of mac 'n cheese. Free from cooking duties for a moment I walked over to play with my progeny and again noticed the hives on his face. Something really clicked and I was trying to hold myself together as I called the doctor. I again explained the hives only this time I knew that I must have splashed some milk and cheese mixture onto him while I was stirring. I had recently had a conversation with a friend that is allergic to fish and eggs and he'd mentioned that fish is actually deadly to him and that if any touches his skin he gets a reaction immediately. So at this point I am picturing having to remove all milk ingredients from our home, implementing the strictest of safeguards and controls around our child all to keep the evil whey, lactose and other unsavory cow ingredients away from his sensitive system. All my research came up to tell me that he had about an 80% chance of outgrowing his allergy but something kept niggling in my head telling me that he probably won't be one of the lucky.
Two weeks ago I decided to give Killian eggs for his first time. He resolutely refused to even taste the scrambled eggs so being the kind and patient soul that I am I waited till he hollered at me and managed to sneak a bite of the eggs into his bellowing kisser. He cried harder and gagged a bit so I figured we'd try again a different day. As I was cleaning up the egg mess Killian's face started to turn red with hives beginning around his mouth. I took a piece of the egg and rubbed it on his cheek to test the reaction. His cheek had hives within minutes. For the third time in less than 6 months I called the doctor to explain his reaction and got into an appointment that afternoon. My step mom LuAnne and husband Kelly both accompanied us to visit Dr. Jensen of the Pocatello Children's Clinic. He pretty much told us the prognosis for Killian's recovery from these reactions is grim and referred us to Dr. Parry, an allergist.
We are currently waiting for our appointment with Dr. Parry and I am gathering information. I plan to be armed to the hilt with information and avenues to pursue. I have found clinical trials currently happening at France's Nancy University and Duke University here in the States in which they are having huge success in curing children's milk and egg allergies. Doctors are orally administering minuscule amounts of the allergen and increasing the dosage over two years. Children that could only stand 1/1000th of an egg at the start of the trial can eat two scrambled eggs by the end of the two year study! The outcomes from these trials clearly indicate that oral desensitization is a viable treatment for egg and milk allergies. I hope with all my heart that Dr. Parry will agree with me and help us to start a program ourselves in order to help us cure our child.
And for the third blow. Killian rarely let's other people hold him, especially my dad. It's been an ongoing joke that Killian just really doesn't like his Grandpa because he will scream and try to get away anytime my dad holds him. My dad has always been a good sport about it but I know it bothers him. I have noticed small red marks on Killian where my dad has kissed him, but I always assumed his beard had irritated his baby skin or that it was coincidence. The other day Killian was having a really good time playing with his Grandpa! LuAnne and I were so happy that Killian was being so social and we were all enjoying a nice afternoon until Killian once again broke out in hives. After some investigating we finally figured out Killian is allergic to our miniature pinschers. My dad has one too and Killian had gotten her hair on him, which caused the reaction.
So to date I am trying many eggless cake recipes for Killian's upcoming birthday, wondering if we'll have to find a home for our two dogs and trying to keep it together emotionally. I want everything to be so perfect for my boy and I truly hate that he may have to suffer with debilitating allergies for the rest of his life.
I will keep all posted on my eggless cake search. If you are a fan of cupcakes and would like to taste test for me I'd love the help. Email or call me, I'll drop some off and you let me know what you think of the texture, taste, etc.
Our appointment with the allergist is tomorrow and I will post about that as soon as I can.