Allison has had Asthma since she was about 5 years old, but it was always easily controlled. She had never had much trouble with allergies other than an occasional bout when she would be exposed to alot of dust or hold a cat. Then, in April, 2007, she had an anaphylactic reaction one night after supper and had to be rushed to the hospital. For about 6 months prior to her severe reaction, she had been having tongue and throat itching after eating certain foods and would eliminate those foods from her diet, one by one. After her initial anaphylactic reaction, things started getting worse and none of her doctors could explain why, or help her. They tried to help, but she was eliminating more and more different foods from her diet, but having more and more swelling.
Allison has been going to a new doctor now for about 9 weeks, and he does things a little differently than the conventional doctors. We have seen great improvement in her health. Many times, the nutritional aspect of healing is tied to Eastern Religion. I want to make sure that you know that we DO NOT believe that nutrition and healing have anything to do with Eastern Religion. Allison's doctor is a Christian and understands that God is the Great Physician. The doctor she is going to, uses Nutrition Response Testing to analyze her body's need. He doesn't give new meds, but she is taking whole food supplements and eats foods that are minimally processed without added chemicals. Why did we choose this route? Allison's allergist in Charlotte said he had exhausted all of his resources and we needed to find another allergist that could perhaps help her. Her allergist in Hickory really didn't know how to help, either. They were giving her samples of new meds to try, but she was either allergic to some of the ingredients and couldn't take them, or had a reaction to the medicine. Allison has had an anaphylactic reaction to prednisone, has had an anaphylactic reaction to the new HFA inhaler, and can only take liquid dye free Benadryl. We were at wits end. She was swollen most of every day and had come to the point that she could eat only 3 foods. A friend of ours has a son that has severe allergies and has been in the hospital many, many times. Their son was rapidly improving under the care of this doctor, and they recommended that we take Allison to him. I must tell you that our attitude toward this approach was, "Oh well! It only costs $35. What can it hurt. We'll go for entertainment." We never thought this doctor could help her. We are so thankful that we were wrong!
Now for the wonderful news! Allison has added several foods to her diet. Here is the list of the things she can eat: Chicken, potatoes, pork, broccoli, grapes, raisins, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, green peppers, eggs, pineapple, butter, and sweet ONIONS! She used to have a reaction if there was an onion in the same building as she was and now she can eat them! She hasn't been able to eat bread for almost 2 years, but now she can eat Ezekiel 4:9 bread. (It is made from sprouted grains and contains NO flour or preservatives.) What a blessing! She can actually eat a meal, because instead of one food at a time, she is now able to eat many of these foods at the same meal. She brushed her teeth with toothpaste yesterday for the first time in a year and DIDN'T SWELL. Allison feels sooooo much better and is full of life instead of sitting around like a zombie. We give God the glory for all that He is doing in her life.
We are still very careful with what we feed Allison, and she still takes her own food everywhere she goes. We know that it may take a little time for her to heal completely, but she is well on her way and IMPROVING!! God is always good and has been faithful to supply our every need during this time of trial. We are so thankful that God is allowing Allison to heal, but we are also willing to accept whatever He may place in our lives to bring glory to Himself!
I have posted some pictures that aren't very pretty, but they will give you an idea of the trial Allison has been going through.
This was taken during one of Allison's numerous reactions. She couldn't open her mouth any wider because it was full of swollen tongue. It was impossible for her to get her tongue completely in her mouth.
No, she's not pouting! Her face and lips are swollen from a reaction.
At Allison's first visit with her new doctor, we learned that her liver was stressed and not functioning properly. She tested for chlorine and mercury, and is taking supplements to push these out of her system. Saturday night when she got in the shower she was fine, but when she got out of the shower, she had a raw spot on the back of her right hand. We couldn't figure out what she did. It looked like a round "carpet burn". Sunday night, about 24 hours later, she had one on her foot. Really strange! Monday morning, about 8 hours later, she had 2 on the other hand and one on her other foot. We took her in to see the doctor and he explained that her body was pushing the metals out too fast. We stopped some of her supplements and after several more spots appeared (including a few on her face), she stopped breaking out. They are still quite painful, but at least there aren't any new ones.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR ALLISON!
This is after being back there for only about a half an hour. : O
