Abby had all the classic red flags since the day she was born. Colicky and eczema. She went in weekly to the doctor, sometimes multiple times when she was an infant. Every single night for months Abby suffered from an upset stomach, itchy blistering skin covered her entire body and had a swollen throat/face.
We went through 5 pediatricians in 8 months. The first person who really helped us was a dermatologist in Skokie, IL, Dr. Desai.
Abby has her first appointment with the Southern California Food Institute, January 2021. After over a year of being on their waitlist they finally making the first HUGE step to food freedom. Her family deal with her severe food allergies every day. There is no avoiding food, food is everywhere… birthdays, holidays, playdates. Abby’s food allergies are LIFE OR DEATH situation. Her parents have lived in fear for over 4 1/2 years.
The program is a huge financial responsibility, including flying to California every 5-8 weeks and committing to a multitude of extra work with dosing and treatment. There is no other choice or treatment for Abby.
For the first time in 4 1/2 years Abby and her family will finally have answers. They are going to have a solution to a problem that we have learned to just deal with. Abby and her parents meet Dr. R and develop a treatment plan that can take anywhere from 2 to 6 years.
There is finally a light to this VERY dark tunnel.
She has a long way to go to be able to book the first appointment and have it paid in full is incredible. Her journey is just about to begin and she has lots of work ahead of her.
The program Abby will be going through is called the Tolerance Induction Program (TIP). The financial cost of TIP can be significant. The work of the facility, analytics, diagnostic testing, research, food protein extraction, food preparation, challenge safety and much more costs tens of thousands of dollars per patient. While insurance covers a portion of the TIP cost, each patient is responsible for out-of-pocket costs including the annual program fee. The program fee includes data and diagnostic analysis, research, food protein extraction, food preparation, and food challenge safety measures. The family is responsible for our annual program fee, diagnostic labs fee, and additional costs that they will encounter depending on the Abby’s unique treatment plan.
Abby has over 20 allergies range from itching and blistering to anaphylaxis. A few of the everyday foods she must avoid are peanuts, strawberries, dairy, milk, eggs, tree nut, sunflower seeds, sesame, mustard, pumpkin, melon, rice, coconut and tomato.
