What's it going to be?

My cell rings.

It's Casey. Sam's blood-work results are in. I'd love to talk to you about it today at 5 when you come in.

OK. Should I be nervous?

No, no.

Really? I bet you say that to everyone.

No. See you soon.

I had no idea that one phone call could create such angst!

On the way to Sam’s appointment (his 5^th), I explain to him that today we are going to learn what foods he needs to stop eating to have a tummy that doesn’t hurt as much. I warn him that it could be a lot of foods or not so many.  Sam often complains of a bellyache. He believes it’s from milk and for a while, he only drank Lactaid and took those OTC pills that allow people who are lactose intolerant to digest lactose. For a little guy who really likes milk, he dealt with it very well. After a couple of months of lactose free living, he started drinking regular milk again and the side effects seemed to be gone. As we’re waiting for the elevator at Brain Balance, I remind him of this and he tells me that milk still bothers him.

We walk in to the center. Shoes off. Jacket on the chair. Back he goes.  Casey comes out with a smile on her face and I follow her into her office. She reviews what we talked about in our first meeting – the difference between an allergy and a food sensitivity, what you should look for when reading a nutrition label,  etc. She then reminds me that the plan is to remove the foods that he’s sensitive to for 90 days – no cheating or we start again. At the end of 90 days, hopefully his gut will have mended and we will reintroduce the foods that we’ve removed. Sounds good. I’ve heard it all before. Cut to the chase. What does he need to give up? Eggs? Dairy? Wheat? Gluten? Peanuts? Corn? This could be bad…

So I told you not to be nervous and I meant it, Casey says with a smile.

Really?

Yup. His only food sensitivity is to dairy.

That’s not so bad, right?

Nope. It’s easy to avoid dairy. There are so many almond milks and soy milks out there now. And restaurants know what to do you with you. You’ll be fine and if you have any questions, just ask.

She reviews the data from the blood test and explains what the numbers all mean and then she takes me through popular dairy free brands and substitutes that other moms have been happy with. She’s excited to tell me that she’s hooked up with a vegan baker who is going to add Brain Balance to her list so I can order goodies from her.  Wow. This doesn’t seem so bad and really, she couldn’t make it any easier for me.

I thank her and head out to the reception area. Betsy and Erin are  chatting with two other moms. They ask me how Sam will react to the news. I tell them that he’s the one who figured out that he a problem with milk so I think he’ll be on board. They ask me if there are any foods he loves that we’ll have to give up and I start going through his list of loves – Oreos, cream cheese, a glass of milk, a cookie dough milkshake from Stoney’s, grilled cheese from Five Guys and oh no – frozen yogurt. He can’t have that, can he? Nope. This one might be hard. Going for frozen yogurt is kind of our thing.

As if on cue, Sam comes bounding into reception. He’s so happy. And now that I think about it, he really has been in a good mood for the past week. Smiling, excited and super chatty. Hmmm.

Hey mom, he says with a smile. (Very bold for my super shy guy to talk to me like this in front of all these mommies. Hmmm)

Hi baby. Ready to go?

I’m hungry. Let’s get some FroYo!

You could have heard a pin drop. All eyes went down. I knew this one would be tough.

I distract him with getting his shoes on and we head out the door. Betsy wishes me good luck and the smiles have been replaced with a little worry.

As we walk to the car, I tell Sam that we got the results. There’s good news and there’s bad news. Good thing is that there’s only one thing we need to remove. Bad news is that it’s dairy.

No problem, mom. I told you milk was bad for me.

You were so right. But dairy means more than just milk. And I go through the list of things that he will miss. He’s handling it OK. Until I tell him that Fro Yo is on the list.

No way, mom. I know my body, mom. They don’t. Fro Yo is good. I like it. That’s not the problem. Milk is. Not Fro Yo. They don’t know me. I know me.

And then the tears start.

I remind Sam that it’s only for 3 months (which seems like a lifetime to a seven year old) and that we will go to our favorite place – Sweet Orange – for our final send off to Fro Yo.  But that this is the last one for a while. He starts calming down. I tell him I am going to figure out ways to make him great cookies. And we’ll find fake ice cream that he likes. I promise him that we will find some yummy foods for him to eat.

The tears are gone. He says Alright Mom, I know you’ll make it ok. And almost in tears myself, I promise that I will.