Allergy Check-Up

When I scheduled Evie's (first) annual check-up with her allergist earlier in the week, I couldn't remember for sure whether she'd have to go through testing (for tree nuts) again. I thought I remembered the doctor saying that she would have to be tested each year to see whether the allergy changed. And what I thought I remembered was right.

Evie tries hard to follow the directions of nurses and doctors as well as she can, even when she's nervous about what they're going to do to her. She sits still, breathes deep, and she fights back her tears, at least until it's just her and her mom in the room alone. I'm proud of how she can so maturely hold herself together, but I remind her that it's okay to feel upset. I got a big, long hug from Evie after the nurse left the room, while we waited for any reactions from the tree nuts to occur.

The fifteen minute wait must have seemed so much longer to Evie. She kept asking if I could scratch her back. I replied that when the nurse came back, then I could scratch it. Anytime she heard a voice in the hall, Evie would exclaim, "I hear someone outside the door! Maybe it's the nurse." 

Finally, Evie managed to distract herself with a mirror hung on the wall nearby. She made faces, then she tried to twist around to get a look at her back. I took a picture of her back, then showed it to her (on the back of the camera). She liked getting the details of what was happening. After we got home, she asked to look at the picture again.

Evie was tested for walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, and pistachios (in that order). You can see on her back the raised bump next to the "C" on the right side of her back, and the raised bump next to the "P". Last year, Evie only tested positive for cashews. This year, she also tested positive for pistachios.