DOUBLE DIGITS!!! NEXT STOP---- GRADUATION!

I am in awe.
How else can I put it?
I am shocked.
I am amazed.
How did we get this far?

I literally have been hemming and hawing about OIT for years. The first I heard about it was when Coby was 4 years old. The closest place would have been 7 hours round trip, they wouldn't take insurance and would cost several thousand dollars and Coby was too young at the time to even consider it.

Every couple of years we would revisit the idea of OIT telling ourselves that if it were guaranteed to work, despite the distance and the cost we would do it.
But there are no guarantees, are there?
So we placed it on the back-burner.

And then when Coby was 8 years old we heard about this place up in Suffern, which was just 1 hour round trip and took insurance! Too many things were just falling into place to not seriously consider it.
We were being thrown a life-line and we needed to grab on.

But.
What if?
I mean, it can't work.
Can it?
He's too allergic.
Isn't he?
But what if this can save his life and give him his childhood back.
We can't risk not checking it out.
We made that initial appointment.
Closed our eyes.
Held hands.
Took a deep breath.
And jumped into that deep end of that freezing pool.

Actually it wasn't a pool.
It was an ocean.
And none of us are very good swimmers.

And very early on those waves overtook us.
And tossed us.
And pulled us under.
And tried to spit us out.
Again and again and again.

We can't do this.
This is never going to work.
But we kept on treading that water.
Wondering if we fake it... could we make it?

It was quite the stormy ride at times. The waters would calm for a bit, but it was just a matter of time til that storm started up again and tossed us around.

But we kept at it.
And never did stop treading that water.

And here we are, the day of Coby's up-dose to double digits and just one week until graduation (if all goes well).

"Be Fearless"--- he wore this shirt to his very first dosing appointment back

in October. And now he wears it again for his last appointment

 before graduation, bringing him full circle. 

As soon as we got there one of Coby's nurses came running to him all excited, "I cannot believe you are at 10 peanuts. I still remember your consultation. This is unbelievable! I'm so excited for you!"

Jessi came in to fill out his school forms. I didn't even know what to check off on those forms. Until now our doctor told us to check off, 'if child eats allergen, epipen immediately, do not wait for symptoms.'
Jessi did not check that off.
She wouldn't even check off 'give epipen for any symptoms IF allergen was likely eaten.'
"HOW DO YOU NOT CHECK OFF EITHER?"
"He is nearly desensitized Stacey. It's a whole new world for him." (Though of course he will still carry an epipen and will need it administered in case of anaphylaxis)

  She also told us we can stop the flonaze. Just like that.
And he up-dosed to TEN peanuts.

That is a whole lot of peanuts.

The hour passed uneventfully and after his post-check we were told, "We will see you next week for your final up-dose and graduation, just don't get sick before then! Graduations are so exciting. We are so happy for you!"

I feel like I am in a dream. This doesn't feel real. I look back at all these months and wonder how we even got here. I was with him every step of the way and still don't know how we got all the way here. Nearly at the end.

I was there. But I just don't get it. It just doesn't seem possible.

Coby and I already made a deal that after next week's final up-dose, graduation, an uneventful night, and his final peanut butter dose that weekend, we have a date at Hagen Dazs for his very first milk-shake that Sunday. I cannot wait. I get teary-eyed just thinking about it.

I just can't believe this.

I seriously cannot find the words.

But as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. And then some...