Skip to main content

Day 40-43 Happy Endings

Sophia loves stories. She mostly loves the emotional journey a story takes you through that ends with everything being okay. She likes to see other people's struggles and how they work through them. She will stop what she's doing to hear about somebody who's sad or hurt. I've thought about this in the past as her being nosy or a bit of a drama queen. Now, I see it as her compassion for others and maybe her own coping mechanism for the emotional demands of her her condition

To a 3 year old, a life threatening food allergy can be traumatic. There is, in it's own right, an emotional process coupled with uncomfortable physical reactions. It's scary and hard to understand. My lingo with Sophia is telling her that I will keep her safe. That's my way of communicating with her that she can relax and have fun, and Mommy will make sure that nothing scary happens to her. When she has  contact reactions she cries in fear and pain and runs to me telling me to "keep her safe". That dialogue is a mutual understanding between us that I know reduces her anxiety. The responsibility required to parent a child with a life threatening food allergy is extreme, but being a young child with this condition  is challenging beyond words. She wants to know why.

Why does she get sick when she only touches milk protein's. Why is milk everywhere and we can't see it? Why do the people in her life eat something that can make her so sick? Why aren't her friends allergic to cow's milk? These are all questions she has asked. I've answered these questions by trying to show her that she's not alone. Daddy's allergic to bee stings. Our dog Lilly is allergic to rice. Papa's allergic to cats. One of her friends is allergic to peanut's. Everybody is sensitive to something. It's my way to showing her that we are all the same because everybody is different.

She like to hear stories where there is a happy ending because she gains hope from them. She likes to see good conquer bad and good things happen to good people. I am raising her with an open mind and heart. I'm showing her by my actions that I will always be here to "keep her safe". I really want her to have her happy ending. I want to see her conquer the challenges she faces everyday and come out confident and strong with everything being okay in the end. I have to have hope to inspire hers.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Going Global With Food Allergies

Have you ever looked at a map of the world, all laid out in front you, and thought, "hmmm...where to go?" Even if you are an adventurous, free-spirited person, food allergies have a way of paralyzingly our curiosity through fear. The constant need to have to be aware of all of our surroundings, naturally develops into taking less unnecessary trips; Always packing our own food and knowing the specific details of the environments we plan to enter ahead of time. The lack of general knowledge of food allergies in the public can force us into creating our own safety bubble. It's a cause and effect reaction that can force families with very severe food allergies to first, find themselves excluded, and then inevitably, because of their previous absence, not given any consideration.  People and the public, in general, can become a safety hazard. To make matters even more difficult and suspect, food itself becomes a weapon because of cross contamination, poor labeling, and very l...

Blessings and Food Allergies

This past month has been busy! Our organization, Food Allergy Resources & Mentoring (FARM) ,had its 2015 5K themed "Nature vs. Nurture". After months of advocating for food allergies and the need for community awareness, then getting sponsorships from local businesses, the 5K happened! This year's was so amazing because the community really embraced our cause, and I really felt progress in our mission being made. The event was truly an experience from start to finish. The theme "Nature vs. Nurture" wasn't without cause. Our venue was at the Ritch Grissam Memorial Wetlands , a wildlife photographers haven. The off-road course was laid out among all of Florida's native wildlife, and Yes that meant alligators too. With a heightened sense of their surroundings, the race participants learned some eye opening food allergy statistics from posters held at each turn by our amazing volunteers. It was impossible to finish the race without a n...

Day 17

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...