I can’t believe we managed to squeeze in five visits this year. I’m pretty sure I’ve flown more this year than I have in my entire life combined.
Leading up to each trip is incredibly stressful. There’s so much riding on these visits—the expense, time off work, travel logistics, and the constant fear that something could go wrong. A sickness, a reaction, bad weather… any of it could set us back significantly in the program. Carrying all that pressure, trying to make sure everything goes perfectly, brings on a level of anxiety that’s hard to explain. This visit also landed right in the middle of Christmas chaos, which didn’t help.
But somehow, everything worked out. We made it through sickness-free and reaction-free, and we even got out of Illinois just before a big snowstorm. A huge win.
If you’ve read my past posts, you know we usually stay at the Ronald McDonald House during our visits. It has saved us thousands of dollars, provides meals, offers a fully stocked kitchen for Theo’s safe foods, and gives him so many fun activities and toys. Just days before this trip, though, we found out they were fully booked.
My stomach sank. I knew immediately that this would make the trip much more expensive. Still, I’m incredibly grateful for every stay we’ve had there so far—it’s been such a blessing to our family.
Thankfully, we were able to find availability at the Residence Inn by Marriott. It had a full kitchen, a pool, and was very close to the clinic. Honestly, we loved it and would happily stay there again. I’ll be sharing a separate blog post about that experience.
While Theo’s appointments are always the main focus of these trips, we try to make room for some fun too. He’s asked to do some really big, brave things for a little kid, and he deserves joy mixed in with the hard stuff. We made our usual trip to the aquarium to see all his favorite sea creatures, and we decided to get a Knotts Berry Farm membership so we can go as much as he wants next year. He rode his usual favorites and even tried a bigger ride he was just tall enough for… though I think next visit we’ll stick to the kiddie rides. He skipped the beach this time but made up for it with several pool visits—even though it was only about 60 degrees, he didn’t seem to care.
I also managed to sneak in a little time with my aunt. We wandered through some local shops and treated ourselves to coffee and Cinnaholic cinnamon buns—a small but much-needed break.
Now for the appointments
Day one was a tough one for Theo because it included his annual bloodwork. He was very nervous, and the moment we walked into the room, the tears started. Even though he was upset, he sat on his dad’s lap and let the nurse do everything she needed to do quickly. Once it was over—and after a sucker and a prize—he bounced back like the resilient little guy he is.
This bloodwork is extensive and plays a crucial role in tracking how his body is responding to his allergens. I’m especially eager for these results because once they’re reviewed, his daily morning foods should change significantly. That means less food he has to eat every single morning, which will be a big quality-of-life improvement for him. The only downside is the wait—it takes about eight weeks to get the full assessment back.
After bloodwork, we moved on to food challenges. Each food is challenged separately, followed by five minutes of exercise. Theo passed almond, sesame, and chestnut with flying colors.
These three foods are now officially part of his daily morning maintenance.
Day two: things got real
Over the past year, Theo has been introduced to and dosed with 12 different foods, including pectin, alfalfa, flax seed, pine nut, chia seed, macadamia nut, poppy seed, Brazil nut, pecan, pumpkin seed, black bean, and pinto bean.
This visit, though, we moved on to the big foods—the ones he’s anaphylactic to.
He started with chickpea, eating just 2 milligrams and then waiting 15 minutes under close monitoring. No reaction. Next came pistachio, then walnut. He passed each one without any signs of a reaction.
The relief I felt is hard to put into words.
When we return home, we’ll begin microdosing these foods every single night. This program has already opened up so many new foods and possibilities for Theo, and this next phase is only going to bring even more freedom.
We managed five visits this year, which meant a lot of travel—but the progress we made was worth every mile. Next year, the cycles will be longer as we work through bigger foods, so we won’t be back in California until the end of March 2026. That’s when we’ll begin soybean and peanut. It’s exciting and terrifying all at once.
We are so incredibly proud of Theo—for handling the travel, for eating all his foods, and for showing such bravery at just six years old.
We’re also deeply grateful for every single person who has followed his journey, supported us, cheered him on, and helped us raise money for his treatment over the past few months. The weight that lifted from our shoulders is something I’ll never be able to fully express. Thank you for helping us move Theo closer to food freedom.
