Where are you? Hope all is OK.

[becca]

Hi Candyguru!  Nice to hear from you.  6 and 9??? 

And my girl will be 17 next week!?

[candyguru]

Hi Candyguru!  Nice to hear from you.  6 and 9??? 

And my girl will be 17 next week!?

17    wow... time flies

[Ciel]

Is anyone in touch with GingerPye? I hope she and her family are well.

[booandbrimom]

Hi guys. Don't know what prompted me to drop into tonight after so long...maybe the extra glass of wine at dinner. Glad to see this community still exists and seems to be thriving.

I see Ginger on Facebook. Her daughter and my son are about the same age...getting through their college years.

My son is doing really, really well. He has had no relapses or issues since the clinical trial. He still carries an Epi for the peanut allergy (or at least as often as I can shame him into it), but he eats everything else on that former list of allergens without trouble. Was it the medication? Did he just outgrow and I (and his doctors) were overly cautious in terms of challenging him? We'll never know, and we definitely disagree. While I believe the trial had a huge effect, I think he believes that most of his restrictions and allergies were more minor than I made them out to be. Stories about his reactions from others don't seem to make a difference. He really believes I got my personal identity from starting this board and the FAB blog, and that I was invested in him being allergic. Those are hard things to hear, and harder to admit there may have been some truth in them. Of course I don't believe his allergies were imaginary, but I honestly don't know whether I was more afraid than I should have been. How can you possibly gauge that? But I did have to take time away from all FA things to lick my wounds after those difficult conversations. So hard to know if the good you do in the world ever outweighs the bad.

Boo, my son, is a senior in college now, studying history and all things Middle East. He'll be going to Jordan over Winter Break (something I could not have even imagined 5 years ago) for an intensive Arabic program. My daughter (Brina) is a senior in high school now and taking the world by storm. She's a talented linguist and is hoping to study international business in a big city somewhere far away from home. Hard to let go of your children, but mine are eager to get out there and I'm happy they have the confidence to do it. So much easier without the specter of MFAs hanging over his head.

We have not heard much about the clinical trial, other than they never published because results were inconsistent. The 30-pills-a-day was very difficult and one of the program people said they had a lot of difficulty with compliance. I heard they were reformulating the drug to a more concentrated form, but nothing after that. It seems there are a lot of promising therapies on the horizon, so who knows which will will the race? I just hope that they find something soon that works for more kids.

Can't think of much else to report. Trying to figure out what life with an empty nest involves. Hope all of you are doing well and that your kiddos are growing up safe and happy. Such a long way FA advocacy has come since we started in the 90s! Was very happy to put that teal pumpkin on my door this Halloween.

[GoingNuts]

Hi Boo - so glad you stopped in!

Great to hear your kiddos are doing well. We've really watched each our kids grow up here, and it feels more like family than our actual families at times.

My FA DS is now 22 and in his first year of Law School.  I secretly thought he might have outgrown because he hadn't had a reaction in so long, until he had a reaction this summer.  So I guess not.

I hope you'll stick around awhile!

[momma2boys]

  hi Boo! Glad you stopped in and all is well! Stick around!

[YouKnowWho]

I'm glad to see you Boo!  You have been on my mind lately as we were discussing the trial in a Science Based Food Allergies on FB. 

[PurpleCat]

So happy to hear from you!  Often wondered how things were going.  Glad your children are thriving and that you are doing well. 

Nothing about food allergies is ever black or white, we are always guessing, assuming, and an overabundance of caution is necessary, bodies behave differently depending on circumstances, hormones, you name it.

I hope you never doubt how much your efforts, your shared experiences, knowledge and education have been appreciated. 

Your son is an adult and ready to take on the world and whether he agrees with how you chose to do so or not, you got him to this great place he is at and helped mold him into the adult he has become!

[GoingNuts]

Well said, PC!

[MaryM]

Boo!  I am so glad to you stopped in and so incredibly happy to hear how well both of your kids are doing.
Your posts here and your blog really helped me to take the plunge and move to Mt. Sinai and to trust the allergists and do food challenges.  We have had successes and failures.  Both kids can eat baked milk and DS (12) can eat pizza which has been life changing.  DS also kicked beef years ago.  Both failed baked egg and thats ok.  Thank you for updating us and thank you for your advocacy bc it really helped changed our lives.

[GoingNuts]

Has anyone seen nameless around?

[GoingNuts]

Has gvmom been around?  I hope she's OK.

[Macabre]

Yeah, me, too. I've been missing her.

[Macabre]

Hey—I think I remembered that she posted fairly recently actually.

[gvmom]

Has gvmom been around?  I hope she's OK.

I'm around.  DS1 had a medical emergency a couple weeks back and it has kind of upended everything.  Not FA related, though we are still lucky he is alive. 

But, as happens most times in life, we've had other things sprinkled on top of that which have kept me pretty overwhelmed and just trying to keep my nostrils above water. 

So.... ya know.... I'm just  these days.