Abe has never eaten shellfish before this week. Becky is allergic to shellfish and with Abe's multiple food allergies, it seemed unwise to risk a possible anaphylactic reaction. However, with Abe moving to a coastal region of a foreign country and after consulting with 2 allergists, we decided it was time to determine if he is allergic or not. The first step was a blood test. His doctor felt like the results from the blood test showed a low probability Abe was allergic so the next step was an oral challenge. Becky picked up a piece of steamed shrimp from the grocery store which Abe took to the allergist's office.
The regimen at the doctor's office was more complicated than we expected. First Abe ate 1 gram of shrimp and waited 15 minutes to see how he felt. Since he felt fine, he next ate 5 grams of shrimp. This used up the piece of shrimp Abe brought from home, so one of the office staff drove to the store to pick up more shrimp. She also bought some cocktail sauce so Abe didn't have to eat plain steamed shrimp.
Abe repeated the process, each time eating a little more shrimp and waiting to see how he felt, until his final dose of 40 grams. He ate about 10 shrimp altogether. Great news! He felt normal the entire time and is not allergic. The doctor told him he should keep eating shellfish weekly to keep his body used to it and make it less likely that he would develop an allergy later on.
On Wednesday we went with Abe to the airport to say goodbye to Jake. Jake left for the MTC in Provo. He'll spend a couple of weeks at the MTC before heading to Ghana.
Gibson is in the final stages of his Eagle project. This week he drilled pocket holes in the pieces to prepare to assemble the furniture.
Mask mandates returned this week with the extreme rise in covid infections in our area. No one likes wearing a mask, but the combination of the delta variant and low vaccination rates have created a crisis for our hospitals. We especially like this sign's reminder to be kind.
Pear picking started on Friday. Pear picking is something we have been able to count on every year, even the past two years with the pandemic and horrible air quality due to forest fires.
After picking pears, we drove go-carts. It's been a long time since we've gone, but Gib is a natural.
On Saturday Abe has free time from home MTC, but he is still limited in his choice of activities. Working on hobbies is okay (unless your hobby is something like water skiing) so Abe used his arduino to program a tiny video game that is operated with a joy stick.
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