My Sweet Little Bubble Boy

The kids were out of school this last Friday and Monday.  We spent both of those days with Andrew's allergy doctor. UGH!  I made an appointment for Friday and we went in to have allergy testing done, but weren't able to do the testing because no one had told me that Andrew had to go without his allergy medicine for 72 hours prior to the appointment. Another UGH!
Andrew didn't mind. He is the most chill kid I know, seriously.

We made a second appointment for Monday and I must say, I was unprepared.  I knew that Andrew had struggled with allergies for some time and the tests would show that, but I had no idea just how many things he would be allergic to or how that would affect our lives from here forward.
The first set of tests were done on his back.  40 tiny pricks were made on his back and tiny amounts of allergens were inserted into his back to show us exactly what he is allergic to.

It was miserable to watch, but to my surprise, Andrew said it didn't even hurt.  This is great news for a mommy. :)  A few minutes later, the tiny prick spots started to flare up!  He started crying and wiggling and it was so hard to watch. :(  He said he felt like his back was on fire and it broke mommy's heart. He had to lay still for 25 minutes, while his poor back was itching and burning. :'( Whew! It's so hard to see your children suffer.
The doctor came back in and checked to see what exactly Andrew is allergic to and there were SO many things that he felt it was necessary to do a second round of tests to verify the most pronounced allergies.  This test was even harder!
The next test was done with six needles (REAL needles this time).  They had to give him six separate shots down his scrawny little arm. :(  This test hurt!

Five of the six shots came back positive.  

In the end, we were told that Andrew was allergic to a LONG list of things.  The most heartbreaking was dogs.  Andrew is allergic to our two fur babies, Sadie and Libby.  With our doctor's help, we have come up with a tentative plan for helping his allergies, while at the same time keeping our puppies.  Please be in prayer with us that we are able to help Andrew AND keep our babies.  Our hearts would absolutely be broken if we had to choose between our son and our dogs because we would lose two family members.  For those of you with animals, you know that they quickly become a part of your family and to see them go is absolutely heartbreaking. :(  

Andrew is also allergic to GRASS and trees!  How is someone allergic to GRASS!?  It is kind of unavoidable, but we are going to do our best. :/  Wish us luck! 

Andrew will start allergy shots within the next couple of weeks (once his serum is ready) and we are hoping this will help to keep his allergies at bay. My poor bubble boy...