Peanut Allergy!!!

So Yes, it has finally been diagnosed....Johnathan is allergic to Peanuts and Cashews. We had an appointment at Children's Hospital in the Allergy clinic with Dr. Atkins on Monday, April 4th. I scheduled it back in January and they couldn't get us in until now. So we've just been avoiding peanuts, but I was secretly hoping that he grew out of it or it wasn't true. Anyway, first off, I have to say I LOVED Children's Hospital. I was so impressed with their friendliness, professionalism, cleanliness, and their kid-friendly rooms and lobbies. Everyone was so nice and there were toys and books everywhere for the kids to play with. Johnathan didn't mind being there at all. So to do the test, they did 9 different drops of solution on his back and then pricked or scraped it into his skin with a different toothpick looking thing. Then marked it with a marker so we knew where each one was. It was Peanuts, then 6 different Tree Nuts, then Saline, then the control Histamine. The histamine would be positive on everybody. He didn't even cry once during the whole thing...due to how great the nurse was. Then we had to wait 15 minutes till we could "read" it. He just had a diaper on, and then they put this adorable little pediatric patient gown on him that was open in the back. So you could see his little diapered bottom wagging around down the hall and out in the lobby (since he wanted to go back out and play). In less than 15 minutes, I could even see what he was positive for. The Peanut one and the Cashew one were RAGING...all flared up like a bee sting or a mosquito bite. They were equal or slightly bigger than the control histamine. So I knew he was allergic to Peanuts. Dangit! So the doctor told us he should stay away from all peanuts and Tree nuts, just to be safe. We know Johnathan can eat Almonds because we feed them to him all the time. The doctor prescribed us an Epi-pen which we need to now keep with him ALL the time, no matter where he goes. The nurse came in and taught me all about the Epi-pen and how to inject it safely. She told me that if we ever do need to use it, that we also need to call 9-1-1 right away and it will be a trip to the ER. Scary! Hopefully we'll never need to use it. But you never know with nuts...they are in so many foods! After I told Nate about it, he said, "Johnathan will never experience a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich in his life"! Oh what a sad thought. But the doctor thinks they will invent a cure sometime in Johnathan's lifetime. So we'll see. Johnathan had to go down to the lab and get his blood drawn before we left. That is the part that he cried REALLY hard. I felt so bad for him. He got a special treat of Fruit Snacks afterwards. Oh, and after the allergy pricks, the nurse gave him a "prize". She walked out to get it and Johnathan was saying, "prize....prize....". She comes back in with a brand new medium sized adorable teddy bear, with the tag still on it. I was thinking he would get like a sticker or a sucker. Man the Children's Hospital is nice! Nate & I thought we'd call his prize bear "Al", short for allergy. This will be a major change for our family in that we always have to screen and ask now if there are nuts in everything Johnathan eats. Fun, huh?