In my health class in college, we learned that if you ate a well-balanced meal (the old food pyramid) that you didn’t need any supplements and should be healthy. So when I prepared meals for my family, I made sure we ate this way. We did eat processed foods, ate fast foods and just like everyone else, we loved treats. So we’d eat healthy balanced meals, but enjoyed our treats too.
Fast forward a few years later. Our little 2 1/2 month old son went into anaphylactic shock and we almost lost him. I was nursing him, but this was the second time I had given him formula because we were at a public pool and it was just easier at the time. As he was drinking the bottle, his lips started going purple, then his face. He started swelling and became lifeless. It was so scary and I panicked. We immediately took him to the small town hospital. The nurse in the emergency room casually said, “he must be having a reaction to something”. “Really, you think so!!!,” was our response. Duh! But unfortunately the doctor wouldn’t be there for several hours. So as she took him to lay him on a bed for observation, he violently began throwing up all over her. We picked him up and told her we were going somewhere else. Luckily, after throwing up, his color began returning and he became alert again. At our family doctors office, our pediatrician said our baby had an allergic reaction to the formula and had gone into anaphylactic shock. He said that it was a miracle that he threw up and got it out of his system. He said he’d never seen a baby come through anything like that without medical help. This little boy had a purpose for being here. After that, the doctor always called him ‘our miracle child’. We had him tested, and sure enough he was severely allergic to all milk proteins.
The road ahead looked and seemed overwhelming to me. He was so severe, that we could drink milk and kiss his forehead, and he would almost instantly have a hive that would welt up and spread across his face. The doctors didn’t have all the knowledge or time to tell me what to do for him for food nutrition. I went to the library and checked out every book I could find on allergies, anaphylactic shock and nutrition/recipes. At the time, anaphylactic shock and milk allergies were pretty new, so there wasn’t a lot of resources. Luckily, I was able to continue just strictly nurse him for several more months before we needed to start introducing foods to him. So that gave me a little time to research and learn more.
I learned about all the proteins in milk and made a long list of them. At the store, we’d spend hours shopping trying to find foods for him that didn’t have any type of milk in them. Even rootbeer has a caramel flavoring that is a milk derivative. The list became longer. Things you would never even think of would have a milk protein in them. It basically came down to eating whole foods; nothing processed. Our family started a new journey eating this way. It seemed like I lived in the kitchen, making everything from scratch. I also made bread every week and all of our treats.
My thoughts often went to how he was able to go to school, dates, pizza parties, birthday parties, etc. At the time, I would make up a batch of homemade cupcakes and put in the freezer to grab for birthday parties and other outings where I knew there’d be dessert. He was my buddy and went everywhere with me. He went on dates with my husband and I. Even our parents were nervous to watch him with all the foods we had to watch for, and make sure he was food safe. I had to be so careful with all the food he had or came in contact with. It was a matter of life or death.
Our pediatrician recommended a group called The Food Allergy Network. We joined them and they would send out monthly newsletters about food allergies. The network was all of us as parents of children with food allergies, and we would notify the network of new food additives, allergic reactions, etc. We also ordered a special medical alert bracelet for him to wear to notify every one of his allergies.
Interestingly, we had found that our son could have Bugles (little cornucopia shaped chips). He loved them and it was one of the few store bought things he could have. One day, when he was about 3 years old, he put a Bugle in his mouth and immediately spit it out, saying that it made his tongue feel weird. We called the manufacture to see if they knew if there was something different in the ingredients. Sure enough, they had added whey (a milk protein) to the Bugle ingredients, but hadn’t changed the information on the boxes yet, because they wanted to use the old boxes they had. So we told them of the problem with that, and they immediately changed. We called The Food Allergy Network and let them know so they could notify everyone else of the change. Now there is email, facebook, and other social media that gets the information out to everyone quicker. (Note: While writing this post, I looked up The Food Allergy Network online. It looks like they joined with another organization and are now found at www.FoodAllergy.org)
At the time, I would often say how I wish it was me going through this, not him. Now all these years later, it is me having to watch what kinds of foods I eat. Not necessarily for an allergic reaction like anaphylactic shock, but food sensitivities and foods that are toxic for autoimmune disease. Having to be so diligent with our son to keep him alive, started me on a journey of learning more about food and nutrition. Through the years, my husband has even mentioned that maybe I should become a nutritionist or find a way to help others. That is what got me thinking about starting this blog. I don’t know everything, and the things I share are only what I’m learning and trying myself. Please remember that you need to do research and do what you feel best about.