From Dust to Dust

What happens when you discover that your entire life has been spent living in the middle of things that are harmful to you and you never knew it before?  What happens when you learn just what kind of damage is being done by mere exposure to things you can't even see?  How do you fight against that?  How can you take that next step when you know that certain elements can affect you by their mere unavoidable presence in your life?

This morning Nyssa had her allergy appointment.  She had to have the back scratch test, and she was afraid because she knew it was going to hurt.  I did not want her to hurt, but I also knew that if she didn't get the test, she could continue the downward spiral her breathing has taken.  In order for her to get better, she had to go through this painful process.  As the test went, she did a wonderful job in the middle of the pain, itching, and burning, and lay amazingly still - for her.

What surprised me was the fact that she showed no extraordinary allergy to any of the pollens.  In fact, most of those didn't even show any redness at all.  Her seasonal episodes seem to be completely unrelated to the various indigenous vegetation.  There were, however, a couple things that stood out.  It turns out, the test was not for aught.

Nyssa showed four distinct allergies, all surprising to me.  She is allergic to dogs.  The allergist called it borderline.  She can have a dog outside as a pet, but not inside.  Next on the list, somewhat higher, is cockroaches.  Seriously?  Do they even test for that?  Evidently so, but I guess that Nyssa doesn't need to specialize in cockroach research when she grows up.  That's a load off!  There are two more allergens, both alarming in two different ways.

Alas, to Nyssa's dismay, she is allergic to cats.  Highly allergic.  She can't have one as a pet, neither inside nor outside.  The bummer to this situation is that all she has talked about for the last year and a half is that she wants to have a cat.  Yes, it brought some heartbreaking tears and a pensive state to my daughter that has remained since we left the doctor's office.

The finale, the biggest of all, the allergy that is not stated as "highly allergic," as that was the cat.  Rather, it is the one that caused whelps 8 times the size of the cat allergy.  I never would have guessed.  My daughter's main source of difficulty is dust.  So allergic is she to this unseen little microbe that we have two sheets, front and back, on what we need to do in her room alone to help keep her RAD in check.  Some of these things are common sense, a little extra vacuuming and damp dusting, but some are things we had never thought of doing before. 

Covering her air vents, taking all stuffed animals out of her room, NO steam cleaning, storing only her clothes in her closet, moving out her toys into another room:  these are only a few of the changes we need to make.  There are a host of items to buy or things to do on a biweekly basis in order to keep her healthy.  Just looking at the list made me wonder how in the world she hasn't ended up in the ER more often than she already has.

Nyssa's pediatrician and the allergist both told me we are doing a good job at heading off the attack once it hits.  We are catching all the signs and doing all the preventative and cut off maneuvers we should have known to do.  But this knowledge gives us even a greater advantage.  Now we know the cause for her troubles and we can do more to stop the problem.

It is hard when you face an invisible foe.  It is harder when you don't know the foe is there.  When you know that you have an enemy, and he has a name, you have the advantage over those that have no clue a battle is going on and you are the prize.  You are the city that is to be captured or protected.  When you are aware of this adversary, you can do certain things to increase your defense and make it harder to penetrate. 

You can build a wall to act as a shield against the enemy's attack, much like the pillow encasings we will have to get for Nyssa.  You can make sure you are acting properly, keeping yourself from temptations in the same way I will be damp dusting her walls, windowsills, and her bureau.  You can remove yourself from situations and people that you know will cause you to do what is wrong, just like I have to take all the things out of her room and closet except for her clothes, books, and a small bin of "must stay" toys. 

Though you may not be able to see what you are up against, you know what it represents: bad judgment, treating others wrongly, walking away eventually from all that is right and good.  And if you protect yourself by being proactive in keeping your area clean, you can win a whole lot more battles.  It will be tougher for the enemy to get to you because you have been diligent in that which is right.