– 3:39 pm
We flew back from Riga a few days ago. As I pondered this post, I asked myself, was it worth it? Was it worth the trip across the border to do these allergy tests? Damn fucking right it was! We uncovered more in hours than we did this entire time trying to manage your health. Within days, your sleep and mood have significantly improved. The former no longer requires a mental prep while I chalk the latter to “he’s a child, he’s supposed to throw a tantrum now and then“. Your skin is also back to being golden.
Frustratingly, to now, every clinician we saw maintained that these reactions weren’t food allergies. Never mind what we said. They were more content with recommending more creams to deal with the eczema. It seemed so bloody obvious.
Anyway, your mother had heard and seen enough. Riga was her move. If you haven’t figured this out yet, she’s got strings everywhere. Between her circle of friends, she was recommended to one of the “crème de la crème” general practitioners in Dr Ilze Aizsilniece by Ieva Ilvesa (once the first lady of Estonia). At short notice, she somehow forced her way into an appointment. I only turned up as a witness.
A prerequisite was to get some blood tests. So we left Gatwick in the morning and by late afternoon, around four-ish, we were at a clinic for blood work. It’s ridiculous how much you needed to provide. Your mother was a blink away from crying. I had your legs pinned in between my thighs while I held you dead still through the screaming. Fuck me, I was barely holding it together! They still didn’t have enough after draining one arm. They wanted us to come back but thankfully someone suggested trying the other arm. I agreed (unwilling to repeat this ever). So we did the right arm. You’d have to be critical for me to do this again.
A few hours later, your mother and I were at the flat looking at your results. (Yes, it was that quick.) You are severely allergic to dairy, eggs, swiss cheese and (here’s an odd one) bananas. What breaks my heart is that these are items we’ve been giving you every. single. day. That’s how long you’ve been suffering. We’re so sorry about that.
The hour-long meeting with Dr Ilze was in Latvian so you and I hung out in the corner (with the toys) while the two women in control talked. I’m sure there were others but the headline download I got was
- A prescription of more baby-friendly creams to handle the rash.
- A gentler antihistamine to use in emergencies.
- Re-introduce some dairy foods (like milk and yoghurt) at age three in very small quantities and observe over a week.
- Your body thinks these foods are toxins so it’s doing its best to eliminate them
- A psyllium husk to help deal with the toxins.
- You have four or five more teeth coming.
All of your symptoms have subsided since. The relief is… Well, it’s everything. To think this is how far we had to go. In hindsight, it looks like we were once onto dairy as a possible cause though without science, how could we be so sure? Also, these are not the only food types you are allergic to. It’s a journey we’re glad to see the end of.
The rest of the week in Riga was rather fun. You spent most of it hanging out with Liza. This made her very happy. I had work, unfortunately. Apparently, you had a blast with Dace’s kids in the country.
