09/08/2026
So, an update on Mali. ā¤ļøāš©¹
Weāve been doing immune-calming protocols for a month straight, and we recently went back to Lydia at Healing Roots to see how he was doing.
He passed all of the muscle testing. He didnāt trigger on the alpha-gal sugar molecule, histamine, or spike protein vials. That gave us the green light to start reintroducing red meat, and the plan was to start this last Saturday morning, while Jacob was home to help me monitor him.
Wellā¦ Friday night happened.
We took the boys out with some friends to dove hunt. As I always do, I sprayed the boys down with bug spray when we got out of the car, and we had such a fun night.
When we got back to the car, I took Malakaiās shirt off to check him because ticks are literally all I think about anymore.
And he was covered in seed ticks.
I mean COVERED. There had to have been over 100 on him.
Everyone got to see me completely lose it that night. I was frantically picking them off of my baby, trying to keep myself together while my mind was racing through every possible āwhat if.ā
Shep was covered too, so Jacob and I worked in tandem, picking ticks off both boys as quickly as we could. We rushed home,45 minutes away,and got everyone straight into the shower.
And ever since, I just havenāt been okay.
If you know about alpha-gal, thereās a theory that if someone is asymptomatic, like we believe Malakai may be, additional tick bites can potentially push them into the symptomatic range. Itās also thought that if someone is already symptomatic, another tick bite can potentially increase the severity of their reactions.
And because we donāt actually know if Mali is truly asymptomatic yet (we were suppose to start red meat the next morning )this has me terrified.
We had worked so hard for the last almost 2 months. We had finally gotten encouraging news. We finally felt like we were moving forward.
And then, in one evening, something completely outside of our control happened.
I know there is nothing I can do now except watch him, pray, and trust that his little body is going to handle this exactly the way it needs to.
So if youāre the praying kind, please pray for Mali.
Pray that nothing changes for him. Pray that these were just a bunch of awful little bites and nothing more. Pray that his immune system does what itās supposed to do and handles this just fine.
And please pray for Shep, too. He was already coming down with a cold when all of this happened. Thankfully, Mali hasnāt caught it. Thank you, Lord. šš»
So right now, it feels like weāre basically back at ground zero.
2 months of hard work. Appointments. Testing. Protocols. Progress.
And now weāre left wondering if we have to start all over again.
I love the country. I love this life. I love raising my boys in it.
But damn.
Iām trying really hard not to develop a phobia of the very place I love because I canāt seem to look at a patch of grass anymore without wondering whatās crawling around in it.
And truthfully, this mamaās heart is tired.
Iām trying to have faith. Iām trying to trust God with the things I cannot control. Iām trying to remind myself that we have no reason to believe anything has actually changed for Mali yet.
So for now, Iām just asking for prayers. For his little body. For his immune system. For Shep. And honestly, for this mamaās heart too.
Because I could really use a break.
And there isnāt one in sight for the foreseeable future. ā¤ļøāš©¹
