There are over 50 OIT family blogs published in our “Research & Learn“ library. They contain the journey of that family in OIT–some are in clinical trials, and others are in private practice with board-certified allergists. All the blogs are fascinating to read, full of wisdom and knowledge unique to that family’s journey.
Bo is one of the earliest OIT blogs we have found. He started at 5 years old in 2006, and as his parents say, is “cured” of his allergy. While “Cure” is a no-no word, it is pretty accurate for many OIT patients. The allergy goes away, and stays away. Life resumes. This family has even gotten rid of their Epi Pens, something that most OIT doctors would not recommend unless both skin and blood tests have gone to zero and there have been years of dosing. This blog is a great one to read if you want to do a clinical trial; Bo spent the first year with “placebo” dosing and had to start all over with peanuts. But it was worth it!
ONE EXCERPT FROM THE BLOG:
November 17, 2013
Giving Thanks for Bo’s Peanut Allergy Cure
As we approach this 2013 Thanksgiving our family wanted to give thanks and update you that Bo is now 12 years old and his peanut allergy is cured. We also relocated to the Dallas, TX area in Aug. of 2012.
Bo was 5 years old when he first started a multi-year peanut allergy desensitization program at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, that at the time, was one of the first of its kind. You can read more details about the actual peanut allergy treatment by reading our previous posts that chronicled Bo’s journey over the years, including that emotional day we learned that Bo’s first year he had been actually receiving placebo and we realized we had to repeat the treatment protocal for year one.
For the past year and a half, Bo has simply eaten a Snicker’s ice cream bar 3 days a week to maintain his peanut desensitization. Other than that, he is happily leading the life of a typical 12 year old young man. We no longer have to read food labels to ensure peanuts are not listed in the ingredients and we eat out without living in fear of cross-contamination. In fact, we don’t carry Epi-Pens anymore since he purposely eats peanuts every week to maintain his body’s tolerance for peanuts.
We are so blessed that so many of you from around the world have emailed us recently and over the years saying how Bo’s peanut allergy desensitization success story and his courage has inspired others with life threatening food allergies. Several of them have gone on to participate in the many food allergy treatment programs now available and are reporting good results too! Quite simply that was the sole purpose of Bo’s blog, to share our family’s journey to find a cure for their little boy’s life threatening peanut allergy and along the way replace despair with hope.
God bless you all and we will continue to pray for the cure of all life threatening food allergies. We leave you with some photos showing how Bo continues to live life to the fullest thanks to the prayers and medical support of so many, especially the wonderful staff in the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute.
