Whitney Block is flat out amazing. She has changed our lives. I might get a little emotional during this review. ;)
Our son was diagnosed with multiple severe food allergies at 5 months old. Yes, those life-threatening allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, and eggs. We waited and waited (over a decade!) for scientists to figure out a treatment for food allergies. We suffered through those years of avoidance, and fear, and frantic calls from school, and ambulances, and hospitals. Constantly living in fear that one bite of the wrong thing could end his life in moments. Then researchers at Duke and Stanford did a bunch of clinical trials and figured out a way to perform oral immunotherapy (OIT) to desensitize people to their food allergies. We were lucky to be in a 3 year Stanford clinical trial for peanut allergy a few years ago and through that study, met Whitney Block. She was our son's Nurse Practitioner at Stanford and basically oversaw his three-year clinical trial. After he finished the clinical trial for peanut, she then supervised his desensitization to ALL of his other allergens. All at one time! He was eating small amounts of those allergens within weeks of finishing his peanut clinical trial. He reached his maintenance dose for all of his allergens less than 6 months from the time we started.
When we started the 3yr Stanford clinical trial, our son's goal was to eat a donut. You read that right, my 12 year old's ultimate goal in life (at age 12) was to eat a Krispy Kreme donut. He had his first Krispy Kreme donut on his 15th birthday. (insert happy tears) Through Whitney's diligence, oversight, knowledge, and kindness, he now eats a donuts wherever and whenever he wants (in moderation! - I'm still a mom!) He's almost 17 now and those years of fear are a not too distant memory.
He orders in restaurants without fear and without consulting chefs on ingredients. He travels the world, and eats confidently in foreign countries where he doesn't speak the language. He goes on school experiential education trips without having to consider what they will have on the menus. This week he is leaving on a 10 day trip with a bunch of other 16 year old boys, and while I worry about other stuff with that, I don't worry about him eating! He lives his life WITHOUT FEAR of a food allergic reaction! All because of Whitney Block (and those researchers). He has a daily maintenance dose to keep up his desensitization - I watch him eat peanut, cashew, walnut, sesame, and egg EVERY DAY. It really works. It's absolutely life-changing.
I cannot recommend NAC highly enough. We are so fortunate here in Los Angeles that she has recently opened an office in Burbank on Fridays. She saw the need for people in Los Angeles to receive OIT and stop living in fear and has stepped up to fill that void. We flew to Stanford for this treatment and now it's available HERE! The office staff is knowledgeable, professional and friendly. They are fantastic at reassuring parents on their fears, because let's face it, this is scary stuff. There is nothing they can't handle. Go see her. Honestly, she changed our lives. read more
