Praying for Francesca's family today

If you read our blog long enough, you will get the idea that food allergies are a big concern for us. Most people who do not deal with food allergies don’t understand this. I know this very well because not too long ago, I too, was one of those people who thought it was all hype. But all of that changed for me about 4 ½ years ago. Now, food allergies, especially life-threatening food allergies are a big part of our lives.

I get news articles related to food allergies daily in my email in-box . Yesterday I received one on a 19 yo girl in the UK who died this past October. I keep a running list of names and faces to remind me of these people. A common thread for the loved ones left behind is that their dear ones did not die in vain. So, I keep their faces to remind me that more people need to understand what we families with anaphylactic food allergies deal with. This particular girl, like many others, was very careful. You’ll probably hear about her in the news, if you haven’t already, because her parents believe that her death was caused by toothpaste. I know people will be laughing out there. But no one will be laughing in my house. I will be praying for this family and the other families like them. Only a few days ago, I was in the store and couldn't find a cereal that I always buy for ds. While I passed the toothpaste aisle, I even wondered what if the toothpaste I buy for him changes or is no longer made. Every time I give my ds a new medicine, I wonder. Every time we try a new food, I try not to worry. By all means, I do not live in fear. BUT it is a very real concern for us. Just last week I gave ds a new food and he reacted to it. I struggle with guilt because I am the one who bought it and gave it to him thinking it would be safe. Maybe I should have checked it out more thoroughly. And then when I call a food company I struggle with being angry. Angry because they do not seem to care and do not give me the answers I need. They are more concerned about lawsuits and people stealing their recipe and so their answers tend to be vague. Many times I end up not knowing, but guessing the “why” for our reaction. In fact, this is what most of our reactions are like. We have few reactions because we are careful. Most of our reactions these days are from causes I have not been able to pin down properly. Thankfully, they are few and far between. But they are sometimes a frightening reminder. I often wonder how I can avoid a cause that I don’t fully know. In the end, I just need to walk out faith. To move on and let those unknowns go. God has been so good to preserve our son’s life when we were living in ignorance. I have to be willing to trust that He will continue to help me preserve my boy’s life and reveal and educate me in things that I need to know. And if the worst should happen, like with all of those I hold dearly, that God still has a plan and it is for our best. No matter what. So, every day, we are deeply grateful for health and life and joy for all of those that we hold close to our hearts!!

Food Allergies for Dummies

I just added this title under "Interesting Reads" and feel it needs some description. This is also listed on KWFA site. While walking through the library, I noticed this on the shelf. While I didn't really need this book, I wanted to take a look. I am very impressed by the content. Of course, it was written by Dr. Robert H. Wood, Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. In short, he is pretty famous in the world of food allergies. Not only that, but he also suffers from food allergies.

If you find yourself new to food allergies and need a good primer to get you started, pick up this book. There are even recipes in the back to get you started. There are so many good aspects to this book. A few things I really appreciate are:

• Encouragement to always carry your epis
• Advice for teens and young adults
• A section on research
• And debunking alternative tests and treatments
• personal anecdotes from both his life and the lives of patients

If you decide to order this through Amazon, definitely use the KWFA link to order. And while you're there, consider joining or donating to this wonderful site!!!

Where's the Beef?

If you didn't know, our youngest ds has many, many food allergies. Among them is beef. Two years ago he was tested and the hope was that at our next visit, we might be able to challenge beef. A in-office food challenge is where we bring the food to be tested and then over a period of usually several hours, he eats slowly increasing amounts of the food. As this is going on, the drs and nurses watch him carefully for any kinds of reactions. Hopefully if all goes well, you can go home and try adding it in to your diet. The test is done in the office in case he has a negative response. That way medical treatment can be given ASAP. If that happens, the challenge is a "fail" and you continue to avoid it.

One of our scary episodes was in the middle of a zoo. We were finished with lunch and Iz was only 13 months old or so. We were avoiding milk at the time and were pretty careful. As we were leaving the cafe, he began vomiting profusely all over his stroller. We had to strip his clothes and wrap him in a Ski's coat. I will never forget the long tram ride holding my limp, grey son in my arms. It was frightening stuff!!! But God sustained our ds and his reaction stopped -- probably helped by the excessive vomiting. So, when word came that we were to trial beef, I got scared. We ended up putting off the challenge so long that he needed to be retested.

This past Nov. we had him tested once again. I just recv'd the results and the scores have increased. This is not the news that I had hoped for. Since beef is an odd allergy, the scores are kind of a guessing game. So, now we must wait and see what the allergist would like us to do. So the wait continues......