3rd time in Disney since OITing

...well we pulled it off! Coby thought he was going to an OIT appointment, so we picked him up from school early and I put his "OIT shirt" on him. 

THIS KID IS GOING TO DISNEY!

And off we went! We were once again allowed to preboard but didn't bother to remind the flight attendant to make an announcement to others not to eat peanuts due to a peanut allergy. Flight attendants did not make the announcement and we didn't bother reminding them. No fears of airborne reactions anymore! OIT win!

en-route to Disney

We prayed for an uneventful trip to Disney, especially fresh out of his anaphylactic reaction just days earlier.

Our first time to Disney since beginning OIT Coby ended up with fever which lead to partial doses and many panicked pages to our allergist.

Last year Coby ended up having a delayed reaction on day one/our travel day (just hives), so this year I figured I wouldn't tax his body that was already pumped with excitement and tired from travel and so I decided to half dose him on that first travel day. Success- no reaction.

I thought this trip would be a shoo-in. Morning dosing of 'just' 8 peanuts---- no powder. Wait 3 hours before allowing him to swim or go on adrenaline pumping rides- there is no way he'd have a reaction--- no reason he'd have a reaction.

Right?

Wrong!

Shabbos- all we were doing was lazing around our hotel. Coby dosed his 8 peanuts. A few hours later he said his throat felt a bit weird and he felt itchy. I literally told him, 'must be the chlorine from yesterday's swim,' but we checked him anyway---- and HIVES!

WTF?!!!!

8 peanuts. NO powder. Doing absolutely nothing in the hotel--- and he's reacting?!

I gave him benadryl, but hives were spreading. I gave him steroids and my stomach was dropping. Would it be enough? Would it progress? He mentioned his throat earlier.
I felt sick.
Thank G-d it stopped the reaction and he was fine the rest of the trip.
But what the heck would cause it?

Could it be- that when we keep him busy in the parks he doesn't think about having had dosed and he's fine, but when he's lounging about and not kept busy- his mind wanders to dark places and that can cause a reaction? Our doctor did tell us that she's seen just anxiety itself cause a physical reaction. Is Coby still traumatized as we are--- of his last 10 minor reactions and 2 anaphylactic reactions? Could his own fear have caused it? Something to discuss next week at the doctor's. A few times on the trip he complained about how itchy he was... BEFORE dosing and there were no spots on him. There are so many levels to this.

I decided to half dose him the following day and then full dose him the rest of the days and Thank G-d he was fine.

BUT...

For some reason I thought I had forgotten to pack enough benadryl. I thought I packed just two single servings of benadryl with his epipens. Since I used one up on shabbos I was nervous about what to do the rest of the trip with just one serving left.

Amazon 2 day shipping wouldn't necessarily have it by us within the 2 days due to Martin Luther King day. And I only had one dose left to cover one more day- so I needed it within 2 days! Our hotel store did not sell benadryl. The closest drug store would have cost us about an hour's round trip drive. So instead we had the pharmacy deliver the benadryl to us and paid a hefty delivery fee, but at least we had peace of mind.

Thankfully we did not need to give him anymore benadryl this trip.

...and of course as you may have guessed- once we got home and I unpacked, I found out that I DID indeed have a full benadryl packed after all.

What can I say--- "...of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most!"

Other than that shabbos scare OIT did give Coby an amazing trip.

Due to dosing, he had to wait a few hours before he was able to ride the scary rides. (adrenaline plus dosing can cause a reaction) but Coby was determined to ride every last ride with his bros, since it would be their last time coming to Disney with us--- so after waiting a few hours post dosing- he braved every last one. Many more than once.

7 dwarfs roller coaster, space mountain, thunder mountain, splash mountain, flight of passage, Expedition Everest, Test Track, Rock N Roller Coaster, Slinky dog dash and the Tower of Terror.

Thunder Mountain

He also had a blast dancing his little heart out once he was allowed to. 

And swimming once a few hours had gone by too.

So how did OIT give Coby an amazing trip?
Firstly---- make-up!
HUH?!
Yep- I did indeed say make-up.
For nearly the past decade due to Coby's allergy and crazy sensitive skin we were too nervous to allow him to get any face paint. Make-up has been known to cause reactions in sensitive children.
This trip?
At the Animal Kingdom Lodge- he got African face paint!

And on the final day of vacation Coby was also able to get a pirate make-over, something he had wanted for years. We were previously nervous to let him have it due to his allergy and extremely sensitive skin--- but now since it's been nearly a year and a half since OIT graduation- it was time to let him get one.

Secondly--- animal food!

Animal food?

Yep- Animal Food!

At our second hotel- the Animal Kingdom Lodge--- Coby was able to participate in making giraffe feeders! There was a whole list of allergen information that came with it--- but we had no concerns at all. Coby was able to completely participate in it!

And yep, the giraffes did come!

And of course--- people food!

We would find out if something was kosher--- and if it was, we'd get it- no further questions needed.

Popcorn. Baked goods. Mickey ice-cream. Club Cool. Dole whip. Minnie's kitchen sink. Hot cocoa.

 

It was a fantastic trip and we were so sad to see it end.

On our way home- we actually got busy exploring the airport and didn't even hear our call for pre-boarding- so we ended up boarding with everyone else---for the first time ever! But I had no worries about that. I didn't need to scrub down the seats before everyone else boarded. He OITd- he's free. Since we are not supposed to dose him before getting on a flight, I knew he wouldn't have a reaction from something someone else was eating.

And Disney 2019--- that's a wrap. The end of an era. It may have been Coby's 10th trip in 10 years--- but it was his last time going with Josh & Mikey. Josh hadn't been able to come with us in six years due to Israel & his college schedule and come next year he's off to grad school while Mikey's off to college or Israel. We were so thankful to get one last family trip to the most magical place in the world and are forever grateful to OIT for making it a trip full of fun experiences, safety & freedom.