Being Happy even with multiple food allergies
by Toni Payan, a California Mom
During one of our trips to the hospital from what turned out to be a severe food reaction with my son, I sat
there asking God-why me? Why this terrible fate for My Baby?? What did I do wrong? I was running thru my mind how in the world
am I going to learn how to read every single label of every food I buy, how am I going to cook without using wheat, eggs,
milk, nuts, citrus fruits, soy, beef, chicken, tomato, garlic, rice, and now Latex allergy too?! Avoid balloons, gloves, rubber
bands; buy shoes without certain latex based adhesives, chewing gum! No going out to restaurants without wiping down the table
and chairs, dissecting everything on the menu to be sure there aren't any hidden ingredients. And the full time job of educating
and reminding teachers and other parents, family, and friends of what not to expose your child to. And how am I going to find
a baby sitter!?? What if I have to use the Epi-Pen?
As I was crying, the mother of the other little old boy in the next bed, who had spent considerably more time
in the hospital than us gave me a tissue. She explained that her son had already had to have 3 surgeries to remove polyps
from his colon and he faced many more surgeries in the future. He was on oxygen because he had RSV (Respiratory syncytial
virus) again, and the nurses came in every 30 minutes and put a tube down his throat to siphon out the fluids in his lungs.
After speaking at length with this brave mother who had been visiting her son in this room for almost 3 months,
I realized how lucky I was that I had some control over my son's affliction. Don't get me wrong, it is taking every ounce
of my inner strength to cope daily.
But just imagine if your child was diagnosed with cancer, leukemia, or something incurable and your doctor
told you that you had to do these same things you do for food allergies and you could save your child's life-Would you do
them??
No matter if that mom guards her son's diet and carries an Epi-Pen or sterilizes everything he touches, she
can not save him from his short-lived destiny.
I now Thank God daily for blessing me with something I have so much control over.....There is such a great
chance of outgrowing these food allergies, and Jan-06 Manufacturers will have to be clear on the ingredients used in their
products. Yippie!
***My son is only 19 months old and we have run him to the doctor 57 times and have had 11 trips to the hospital.
I understand how hard this can be on a parrent****
I have now found a day care provider who has been educated to deal with my sons allergies. Keeping my
son safe is a 24/7 job and our circle of friends is small, but we are grateful for sites like this to turn to for support!
Remeber "Keep it simple, and keep it clean"
If God brings you to it, He will bring
you through it.
