Third Appointment
Our third appointment at SCFAI went really well! I am better prepared with each appointment which helps things go more smoothly. Musa also knows what to expect now so he isn’t as anxious.
Travel
Travel was more calm this time around. There is still so much uncertainty around the virus which makes me anxious as I prepare for the trip. However, once we are at the airport and on the plane I feel much better. O’Hare had even less travelers this time than when we went in May. We breezed through security; though, they did have us take out food and electronics but not EpiPens.
We flew United on the way to LA and the planes were super clean, but we still wiped everything down as usual. The flight crew was on top of having people keep their masks on, picking up garbage and generally trying to keep passengers in their seats as much as possible. I believe they are allowing full flights but each middle seat was still kept empty.
LAX was not busy at all. We took the shuttle to Budget rental which had no line, but one very slow person working there so it took forever to get our car. We have done Thrifty in the past which had faster service so I think I will stick with that for future trips.
We always stay at the Hyatt House in Cypress/Anaheim. It’s a 35 minute drive from LAX but only 15 minutes from Long Beach Airport. The clinic is 20 minutes from the hotel. It’s always clean and has a kitchen with stovetop, microwave, fridge/freezer and sink. We love it!
I like to make these trips as short as possible so we fly out the day of our intros. I keep a 5 hour gap as the office had told me to. Definitely check with the office if you have any reservations about flying the same day. We flew back on American Airlines which is booking full flights and carrying on as if there is no pandemic. The flight was 90% booked and someone was sitting next to us which was really uncomfortable.
As allergy families, we take great care in making sure our kids are safe and that helps during these times. So, we always made sure to wipe down and keep our kn95 masks on.
Appointments
Our challenge appointment went really well. I was able to find SoDelicious Coconut Milk Chocolate ice cream at Whole Foods before the appointment so we mixed the lentil flour in there. I wish I had done that with the chestnut flour last time. Hen egg yolk went down easy, too. I had 10ml baked into a chocolate cupcake and 10ml scrambled which Musa ate with BBQ chips. Both foods are capped amounts in maintenance now with hen egg yolk at 20ml and lentil at 1/4tsp.
After the challenges, we had to redo a portion of the patch with chicken, egg, beef and milk. This portion was on the bottom of his back the last time and it folded in to the point where the results couldn’t be read. This time everything was fine and there was little to no irritation visible. I wasn’t too surprised considering we had been dosing egg yolk without issues. I was surprised, though, that milk didn’t cause any upset since it is Musa’s worst allergen. Good news all around!
We introduced almonds and denatured camel milk the next morning. The almonds were in a gummy form which always goes down a treat! For the camel milk, I had to bring in 1oz denatured. The office didn’t end up using it but they wanted to make sure I had it on hand to dose at home. So, I would call the office before flying with and bringing it in. They may have some already so it would save you the hassle.
Next Dosing Cycle
Our next dosing cycle will take us 11 weeks which sounds long but our last cycle was 10 weeks and it flew by! With the camel milk, I prepared 1 cup as the package stated and then froze 1-2oz portions which will last me 4 weeks of doses before I need to prepare more. For almonds, the office gave us gummies for 9 out of the 11 weeks.