Ellie drank 5 oz of COW milk!

Who would have thought? COW milk?
2 months ago, Ellie told me she REALLY wants to have hot lunch. I knew with her allergies, with the 2 little babes still at home most of the day (preventing me from working in the cafeteria at school)...it just wasn't an option yet. I bought myself some time saying "Let's get you tested first...."

6 days ago, Ellie had 3 pricks on her arm--histamine, control, and milk. She started crying when she saw a reaction forming where the milk was. BUT...it did not grow big like it had in years past. After 15 minutes, it was the size of 5x6 mm and if you are under 5x5, you are considered "not allergic". We were given the option of testing milk out at home (Which I preferred knowing it was a 3ish hr appointment and the thought of needing to bring the other children to that appointment made me want do crawl in a hole!). Andy didn't feel comfortable at home though, and since it was raining last Saturday, we all sat in the parking lot of Theda Clark for 2.5 hours! There was much movie watching going on that day, in our van!

Ellie's never had cow milk. She had a taste of lasagna at 5 mo of age(1st noted allergic reaction), she reacted to milk based formula mixed with cereal at 6 mo of age, and she's had various accidental contacts with milk over the years. She did not like the taste of it....yuk, she said she'd NEVER take a drop of it again! The above picture is Ellie holding the water bottle full of milk we brought with us and then drinking out of a plastic cup saying "Cheers" to me just prior to drinking the 4 tsp dose.

All was going pretty well....so well that during the waiting period after the 4 tsp dose, we actually went to that place of "I can't believe this is happening.....her whole life, we've worried about her allergies...can this be true? How amazing...." and then I heard "MOM!" from a scared little girl behind me...
and her lip was swollen. BUMMER. BUT, we decided to continue and just see what would happen. After all, had been 45 minutes with no issue and she did have chapped lips, what if it wasn't a reaction (it was though)?!

We proceeded and the lip stayed big, and Ellie became very pale. She got angry and frustrated when the dose became a 1/4 cup and then a 1/2 cup dose--she didn't like the taste and we didn't want to quit because then we didn't have ANY answers. Andy took his turn out on the grass trying to get her to drink that last 1/2 cup....and did not succeed. I then got out of the van to talk to Ellie....and this is a sequence that Andy captured from inside our van:
Me reasoning with her (Please, Ellie, just this last dose!!!), Ellie struggling to do it, Ellie noticing Andy snapping picture (MOM! He's taking PICTURES of me!), Ellie laughing when I was telling her just "drink and then throw your cup down...just not on me!" and finally, her last attempt. She did drink most of that last attempt before saying "I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!"

We then noticed how she was as white as a ghost and how sick she looked. We started home, stopped at Walgreens to use their bathroom and then experienced her throwing up all that milk as we entered our driveway. Andy took her upstairs, gave her some Benadryl and we thought it was all over.....
until Ellie came back downstairs 5 minutes later saying "When do I get my 3 Musketeers candy bar that you promised me if I succeeded in drinking the milk?!" She did eat 1/3 of the candy bar, loved it....and looks forward to the day when she can freely eat one.

Since Saturday, we've tried some other milk things and the joy on her face has been a memory I'll never forget. However, yesterday, she tried 10 M&Ms and her tongue started getting itchy. She was very scared and asked for Benadryl. It was then that I realized it's not over yet, our life is not ready to be "free". Today, we went to see the allergist and he had a long talk with Ellie. She's moving fast down the "free of allergies" path; but to get there the fastest, she needs to strictly avoid all dairy. If someone touches her, she'll most likely be ok, there might not even be such a need for an epi pen around our house anymore (but we feel better with one on hand!). The suggestion was return in 1 year and try the test again...when the reaction is 4x4 or less, she'll do a challenge in the dr's office....and the best part? She doesn't have to drink COW MILK! The allergist told her that he will allow her to eat chocolate ice cream next time!

We're ok with this, much more "ok" than we've ever been in years past when our hopes were high. We're going to make changes at school for next year to give Ellie more allergy freedom, and she has her eye on that day when she can not worry about an itchy throat or a puffy lip when she enjoys different foods. Someday....someday....we KNOW it's coming soon!