365 Days With A Food Allergy

We are living in a world of too much food. It's terrible to think of the people who have nothing and are starving, while here I am acknowledging all of the excess of milk containing items everywhere. On one hand there are people dying of starvation, and on the other there are people dying from eating. Both scenarios are compelling and urge a call to action. Growing up I was always told the phrase "beggars can't be choosers". I can usually relate that concept to anything in life. Somehow now, in this part of my journey, I can't relate anymore. Now I think beggars SHOULD be choosers. The people in need or have the most at stake, the most on the line, need to be not just heard but listened to. Food allergies (like world hunger) are treated like a BIG concern for someone else to deal with.

Today we had to run errands so I was on high alert for contact reactions. I told Sophia that she was going to have be very careful about what she touches, and help Mommy to keep her safe. She did a great job. She didn't have any reactions while we were out and when we got home she washed up on her own and even brushed her teeth! I am so proud of my 3 year old. This is a great routine for everyone to remove their shoes and wash their hands when they get home --to not bring home germs in general. Later, a small contact reaction developed but overall we made it through the day unscathed.

I recently read an article in a medical journal comparing the quality of life between a food allergy and type 1 diabetes as the same. Although I can see the generalized reasoning, I was surprised that the medical advisors in this journal would even put that comparison together for the readers. Common knowledge of food allergies is so rare in the general public. Even though everyone seems to have heard of a child in someone's class that has a peanut allergy, I have yet to meet one single person that has heard of an anaphylactic milk protein allergy, unless it was a family living with it. So I think it is a mistake to take an unknown condition and couple it with a known condition, and then say they are about the same in comparison. This just leads to more confusion when, I think, these medical journals have a great platform to initiate social responsibility for food allergies. What I mean by "social responsibility" is that as a society we should watch out for one another. ...

As a parent of someone with a life threatening food allergy, I am completely selective about who we spend our time with and the environments we play in. It's not without reason that I am this way because the choices I make affect my child. There's also a lot of ambiguity that follows that decision making. It helps when people are conscientious enough to say they just came from eating pizza, or simply tell us that they washed down before coming to see us. That sort of scenario always plays in a FA Mom's head until the underlying questions are answered with open communication. I'm not very good at letting the elephant just stand in the room. I can turn any conversation into a FA mini-series at the drop of a hat, not fun conversation but definitely warranted at times. It comes with great relief and gratitude when people who aren't having to manage life with food allergies, make a conscious effort for those who are. They recognize that their actions when choosing to be ...

It's incredible that my three year old is becoming  so aware of her life threatening food allergy, I'm feeling like it's resonating! These days,  every day sparks another reason to engage in discussion about food allergies. Today she had another contact reaction to something unknown and she came and told me! I'm not used to that. Today her reaction was really itchy, different from yesterdays that was painful.  I'm not sure why her reactions vary, but I'm thinking whey and casein contacts react differently in her body triggering different reactions. In any case, she needed a full bath to get rid of the hives that broke out but she felt very in control of it and made me a proud mommy.    

Finally a chill in the air with Christmas lights to make our holidays bright in Florida. We made it through a morning at the park with no contact allergic reactions! I LOVE cooler weather when it's essential to be covered from head to toe. It is built in allergy protection at its finest. After an evening watching the manatees swim into a canal to find some warmth, we walked a neighborhood adorned with epic Christmas lights. We had diligent plans to keep everything milk protein allergen free, all while having some fun. The evening was beautiful, well thought out and executed just as planned, until Sophia touched another's stroller while eating a cracker and her lips swelled. The swelling happened so fast that it warranted a wash down AND a Benedryl. There is always a hidden agenda with food allergies.

One of the worst words in our language, to me, is the word "normal". What is normal? I'm often consoled by and informed of people's sympathy to our milk-free household. It's perceived that we are not able to have a "normal" diet or do "normal" things. I always seem to receive these comments with a prickly undertone because, in our home, not having milk IS normal. Our normal may not be your normal or anyone else's for that matter. I do not feel like we're missing out on anything as far as not having milk containing substances in the house. Nowadays there are so many GREAT alternatives to everything that keep things safe for Sophia. There's nothing that I just can't live without when it comes to food. For me, peace of mind is my must-have and I don't think it's "normal" to compromise that. Another reason I don't like the word "normal" is the stigma it leaves on everything in its path. I'd lik...