Abi walking to l'hôpital Saint Vincent de Paul for her first day of OIT
stop! peanut time
Finally the day had come! 17th August 2021 - Hospital Day One. I had rented an airb&b 15 minutes from the hospital, and so we were out at 7am to get there for our 7.30am start. A bag full of food for me, another bag full of entertainment for Abi. She wore shorts and t-shirt as required and one hand and one elbow crease was coated in numbing cream. Food was definitely off the menu for Abi today, until all doses had been administered and effects monitored for a significant time period. She was to be served a large, plain hospital meal of chicken, rice and vegetables once all treatment had ceased.
"aah-ler-gol-o-shee"
We were met by a friendly, gentle team of nurses in the allergologie ("aah-ler-gol-o-shee") department.
step one: cannula
This is put into the arm or back of hand, in case of emergency. I don't like to dwell on why, so moving swiftly on...
step two: meet the specialist
No photos of this, kids, I was far too in the moment to take photos. (Yes, that is code-speak for S.T.R.E.S.S.E.D.)
step three: skin prick tests
The skin prick tests used actual nuts / nut paste, hence the freeform shapes!
step four: doses
We were warned that we wouldn't be told which of the sequential servings of apple puree contained peanut. After all, the human mind can be a little trickster! Abi was fed her very first serving, swallowed and immediately declared:
"Yeah, that was peanut."
Instant reaction in her throat, 'lumpy, scratchiness' she called it. My tummy clenched: a reaction with the first infinitesimal dose? Was that what we wanted...?
A reaction with the first infinitesimal dose? Was that what we wanted...?
Half an hour was left to pass with the lovely nurses coming in to take readings - blood pressure, blood oxygen, peak flow, skin inspection. (All in French, I should add.) We did OK: a mild throat irritation turned out to be just that.
And so on to the second dose. Irritated throat. Pause for 45-60 minutes. The third dose, throat lumpy and irritated. Pause again. Then the fourth. Ah.
knowing when to stop
The fourth dose did something different: tummy pains, nausea, a feeling of not being right. The nurses and doctor stopped the challenge. Abi, meanwhile, chilled on the bed with her phone.
Forty-five minutes later her breathing became affected and her peak flow dropped. Antihistamine and salbutamol were given straight away, and her symptoms began to ease. Looking back, what felt like a major crisis at the time was actually a pretty average, routine event in an OIT ward. As her mother, though, I'm not sure that will ever feel 'routine'.
What felt like a major crisis at the time was actually a pretty average, routine event in an OIT ward.
Once a bit of time had passed, Abi was offered lunch and I was relieved to see her wolfing it down with vigour.
step five: review
The final step was for us to remain for two further hours of observation, and then we had a chat with the specialist before being discharged with a written protocol (given in both French and English) for us to follow at home.
C'est tout!
did i mention our surprise visitor?
At one point there was a knock on the door and a delightful gentleman joined us with a selection of children's books in French. He then trotted off to track down an English title. The one he found? 'Can't you sleep, Little Bear?' How serendipitous -this was Abi's favourite book when she was a toddler! Thank you, thank you, lovely Pascal! That day was a H-U-G-E day for us, and that kindness and co-incidence really touched me.
A sweet and welcome distraction in between doses from the lovely Pascal
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