So Where Do We Begin?

It's been a while since I last wrote. However, I assure you that I have valid excuses for not updating all of you on our latest and greatest. So, where do we begin?We moved the end of January / beginning of February from our beach front flat to a massive villa in Umm Suquiem 2 / Al Manara area of Dubai.

I know what all of our friends and family back in the States are thinking . . . "What? Mohamed and Nancy moved?! No way. That's not like them." But, alas, it is true. We lucked out and found a bigger place which is much much cheaper and so, in Dubai, you don't pass up prime opportunities like that even if you do have full sea views.Next, Zane's health began to deteriorate very quickly and he fell very ill. We have been taking him to doctors for a year now trying to figure out what is wrong with him. It got so bad that he was vomiting every day all day long and had not put any weight on over the last year since his first birthday. We took him to the emergency room here one night only to be told that health care here in Dubai is so basic that they can not perform the tests necessary on him to help or treat him. Doctors suggested that we take Zane to Europe or the States for medical testing and that is exactly what we did for the month of February.

We were there for over a month and finally figured out what is wrong with Zane. He has severe and multiple food allergies which went undiagnosed for so long that he developed a rare and chronic allergic disease called Eosinophilic Esophagitis (also known as EE). Zane is allergic to rice, wheat, gluten, beef, lamb, fish, shellfish, soy, eggs, dairy products, nuts, seeds and certain fruits. Every time he ate something that contained any of those ingredients, the eosinophils or white blood cells in his body, would grow in his esophagus and attack the food coming down his throat causing him to vomit.

Those eosinophils have now taken on a life on their own. In normal healthy people, eosinophils act to attack only foreign substances that are harmful to your body. In Zane's case, he has a disorder where the eosinophils mistakenly attack food because his body is allergic to it - but sometimes they also just "attack." Now, they won't go away and even when he doesn't eat food he is allergic to he vomits. His esophagus has suffered some damage and scarring as a result creating a severe acid reflux problem for him as well. He must undergo frequent steroid treatments to keep the eosinophils in his body at bay and allow him to be able to eat and drink without a problem. He has had to be hospitalized a few times because of his condition as well which was hard on him. But, the vomiting has subsided considerably and we are now focusing on helping Zane to heal his esophagus and gain weight.

We are fortunate because many children with Zane's allergic disease, EE, are never able to eat again and must be fed special formula through a feeding tube to keep them alive and prevent malnutrition. Zane is able to eat and drink on his own and his "numbers" of Ige related allergies and eosinophils are not too bad. Doctors believe that Zane will outgrow some of his food allergies but not all, unfortunately. But, the EE may be here to stay for quite some time.

Ilhumdullah, Zane is still the happiest little boy ever. His smile lights up a room. I often tell people that if anyone should have to get a disease like this that perhaps it is best that it is someone like Zane because he is resilient and happy anyway - even when he isn't able to keep down any food or liquids. I still feel blessed that God gave me a wonderful little boy and I would rather spend a bad day with Zane than a good day by myself.

But, please say a prayer for my little boy that he outgrows all his food allergies and that the eosinophilic disorder goes into "remission" (if there is such a thing for EE). Zane drinks a special formula called Elecare that is hypo-allergenic yet contains all the vitamins, nutrients and minerals that he needs to prevent malnutrition and encourage growth. The problem with the stuff is that it isn't very filling and it is extremely expensive. But, we have to do whatever it takes to keep Zane healthy. He also needs to undergo frequent biopsies to measure his eosinophils and see if his esophagus is healing. He may also need to undergo more allergy testing to determine if there is anything else he is allergic to -- doctors believe that he is. It hasn't been an easy ride but God meant for Zane to fight this fight for a reason. Mohamed and I are just trying to be there to support, guide and help him all we can when he is most sick.

Finally, so I am not a total and complete killjoy over that last bit of news . . . Mohamed, Zane and I are happy to announce that we are expecting another addition to our family. Baby #2 is due on November 1, 2008 and after our last ultrasound today we learned that so far (God willing) we have a healthy and well developing baby.

All the best from Dubai,
Nancy

(originally posted April 18, 2008)