Hope for the future!

Brooke’s life threatening peanut allergies changed the course of our lives in many ways.  But now, we are about the grab the reins and regain a sense of normalcy and more importantly, regain safety for our beautiful daughter.

Last week, we travelled 6+ hours (one way), to go meet a man that has the ability to give Brooke a normal life, free from fear of peanuts.  We had an appointment for a consult with one of only a few doctors in the United States who is offering Oral Immunotherapy in their private practice.  The program is so popular, and knowledge about it is becoming so widespread, that Brooke was not immediately entered into the program, as the doctor is slammed with patients he is currently treating.  Currently, OIT is the only therapy offered for children with life threatening peanut allergies.  The only other treatment for peanut allergies is strict avoidance, which is like a ticking time bomb… if you ask me.  How can you avoid it if you can’t see it, you can’t ban it, it’s everywhere and in almost everything, you can’t convince others of the necessity to keep it away from your child, and your only hope of your child not encountering it is to rely on other people to do the “right thing”. 

When Brooke is admitted to the therapy program, she will slowly be desensitized over the course of two years.  During the first year of therapy, the doctor will administer extremely minute amounts of peanut orally (starting with 1/3,000^th of a peanut).  Every other week, we will travel 6+ hours to increase the dose she will consume.  If she can successfully complete the program, she will be able to eat peanuts freely without the fear of anaphylaxis.  Actually, she will be required to eat them daily to maintain her desensitization.  The therapy is not cheap.  We estimate that will be spending nearly $25,000 over the next 2 years.  This includes the cost of the therapy, gas to get there and back, hotel stays, and food while we travel, maybe flights if we can afford them.  The therapy is not covered by insurance, as it is not FDA approved and has no billing code to bill under.  The $25,000 will all be out of pocket.  We created a fundraising page for Brooke http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/brooke-s-allergy-bashers-/40353 in hopes that we would be able to raise enough funds to get the therapy for Brooke.  So far, through generous donations from family and friends (and even one stranger), a few fundraisers I’ve put together and the tax returns we got this year, we’ve been able to fund 1/3^rd of the total amount we will need to give Brooke a new life!  We are so excited, and really looking forward to starting OIT, as this therapy will impact her life in such a positive way! This is such a big commitment for our family and more than we can afford on our own right now. If you are able, we would greatly appreciate your assistance in helping us fund the treatments and improve the quality of life for Brooke & our family.  Even if it is only a $5.00 donation, it all adds up!