Jaya and I went to Burlington early this morning for her OIT updose #8.

Sahil is in a camp this week so we elected to delay his 9th updose to July 27. He will continue on the current dose of 1/4 peanut until his next appointment.  The good news is he is finding it easier to eat the actual peanut versus the peanut solution so he doesn’t gag at all and he has not complained of any more stomach aches. He does cough occasionally while he’s eating meals so I am monitoring this closely.

Today Jaya was given 10 drops of undiluted milk.  She complained of stinging in her tongue and lips when she swallowed the milk; the discomfort resolved after she took a few sips of water.   Because it is ten drops or 0.5 mL she can now taste the milk and she said it was disgusting. Thankfully, she tolerated the increased dose and  the appointment was uneventful.

Every appointment is a milestone. Every single dose gives us hope.  Hope of lessening the burden of food allergies.

We are fortunate to be able to access oral immunotherapy and I pray it continues to work.  These prayers are more fervent in light of a recent tragedy.

A 13 year old boy died due to an allergic reaction in London, England on July 9, 2017.

His name was Karanbir Cheema.  Karan.

Karanbir

Definition: Actions of God’s Warrior

I have read many online news stories about his tragic death but the details remain unclear.

It is alleged that a classmate hid a piece of cheese in Karan’s sandwich without his knowledge.  Karan, who had multiple allergies including dairy, ate it triggering an anaphylactic reaction from which he did not recover:

https://allergicliving.com/2017/07/11/london-teenager-arrested-after-allergic-classmates-death/

My heart hurts when I think of this poor boy and his family.

My head does not comprehend how someone could do this to him.  Was he being bullied? Did the classmate understand the life threatening nature of food allergies? Is it because of what Barack Obama has referred to as the empathy deficit?

Whatever the reason it still remains that Karanbir’s parents have lost their only child.

Their lives will never be the same and their grief will last a lifetime.