No Answers, More Questions

After all of the drama of last week’s visit to the doctor and the following blood draw to test for allergies, I had hoped to report one satisfying resolution to that arc of Mira’s story.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t seem to resolve mysteries as in novels or neatly storyboarded television shows, with all loose ends tied up and answers revealed.

Waiting for the results, I was focused more on what kind of lifestyle changes we might have to make to accommodate Mira’s allergies than anything else. What if she really was allergic to dairy and we had to go dairy-free? Or what if she had inherited the seasonal allergies of Aaron or I, but even worse, and would need to start allergy shots to bring some relief?

I didn’t hear anything by Friday afternoon, so I called the office and asked about the results. The doctor we spoke with last week wasn’t in the office, so one of the nurse practitioners called me back a little later with the full report.

Of the enormous list of food allergens and environmental allergens that Mira was tested for, she was allergic to…

None of them.

Wait, what?

The blood test showed no measurable allergy to anything in the test. This included about every kind of pollen, mold, and animal that she might encounter in Ohio, as well as all of the common food allergies and cinnamon. However, the nurse practitioner said the test results did show an elevated IgE level, which indicates she’s having a reaction to something, we just don’t know what.

The next step? Not sure yet. I have to get back in touch with the doctor to determine where to go from here. We may be seeing an allergist, or she may want further tests first. Either way, I need to make sure her symptoms aren’t forgotten. Mira’s flare-ups are random and she hasn’t had a vomiting episode/cramping in nearly a month, but we know it’ll happen again. And the eczema on her head is only slowly responding to the steroid treatment.

I’m glad this kid has such an easy-going personality. She was telling her preschool class last week about the blood draw and described it as, “It really hurt, but they weren’t being mean. They were just doing what they needed to help me feel better. They weren’t trying to hurt me.” Mira knows there may be more testing involved, too, and while I’m sure she won’t be as brave in the moment, she still says she’ll be brave and knows we only want to make her feel better.

That’s Mira – the kid rolls with anything life sends her way. Although she’ll make sure to remind you of the story of her bravery at least once a day for the next month, usually with some parts exaggerated for dramatic flair to make her the star/hero of the story. Maybe she needs her own blog – once she learns how to write.