What's Been Happening Here

I know I'm way behind on my blogging. I've got tons of excuses, but I will spare you the boring details. I should fill you in on our allergy news.

Wednesday night was the 1st meeting of out local food allergy support group. We had a small turn out but it was fun. We basically traded some stories and talked about how to make the group a success. It always surprises me when you have something in common with other people how easy it is to talk. You become comfortable with them quickly. I would suggest if you have a support group in your area, go to a meeting. It's great to feel like your not a crazy overprotective parent. A the bottom of this FAAN Page on support groups, you can find one near you. Or just do a google search for your area.

The next thing I want to tell you is how wonderful the NY Mets Peanut Control night was at Citi Field! We had such a fun time. Bringing a 2 year old to a baseball game is a lot by itself. Add his peanut and nut allergies, and insane is the word that comes to mind.

Having the peanut free suite was an amazing experience for a number of reasons. First you get to enter through the VIP entrance. You don't have to mix with the rest of the fans (their food in particular), or even pass any concession stands. The hallway to the suite is enclosed so no peanuts flying around.

Second, you don't have to just sit in your seats. There was an indoor suit as well as a balcony seats. You were free to roam between the two. This is perfect for our ants in the pants 2 year old. We were able to leave the suite and let him run and walk around without fear of peanuts all around. The hostess for the suite next to us even asked who the allergic kids were so she would keep an eye out if they wandered to that balcony. They didn't serve peanuts outside on their balcony either just in case.

Third, the food was catered and was peanut free. My only issue with the experience as a whole was their food options were slim. My son won't eat hot dogs or rice so french fries were his only option. I hope next time there will be some additional options. Since we are not allowed to bring our own food.

Fourth, Mr. Met came to visit. The kids LOVED this. Our little guy kept asking him, "what are you doing baseball?" They took photos, but of course my guy was too busy talking to him and wouldn't turn around.

We did go to a lower lever to buy a hat for him. The minute we stepped off the elevator I stared to panic. Daddy had to keep a tight hold on him and didn't put him down until we got to the store. I think until he is older, peanut free suites are the way to go. I know I would not enjoy the game in regular seats when bringing a peanut allergic kid. I do want to go back to Citi Field without the little guy so we can explore the new stadium. It's beautiful.

So if you get a chance and love baseball, I say spend the extra cash and go peanut free suite style. I can honestly say we had an amazing stress free experience. My son loved his first baseball game, and was talking about it for days. He even wore his hat to bed for a bunch of nights. So thanks NY Mets for a great first experience for this Food Allergy Family!

In other food allergy news, I received my 1st edition of Allergic Living Magazine. Now that its available here in the US, I suggest getting a subscription. It's a great resource and a good read. If you go to the FANN Discount page you can save $10.00 on your subscription.

Well I'm off to do the 100 other things I need to do.

What's Been Happening Here

A Year Gone By

Today is an anniversary for our family. It's not one we remember fondly, but it makes us thankful that we made it though without any major incidents (well since the first one that is). A year ago today our family entered the oh so fun world of severe food allergies.

This last week I've been really thinking about how our lives have changed. How my parenting style has changed. Our lives are more stressful, and I've become that helicopter mom at parties (not how I envisioned myself at all). In fact I dread parties now. I have bad dreams about him riding the bus and bullies. I also have arguments with strangers in my head when thinking about the future and the situations we may encounter. I've always been outraged about intolerance, but now it makes me weep when I know my child is the target.

However that is not all. I've become more tolerant and educated. I've come to appreciate our family and friends even more than before. Without their love, support, and acceptance of our situation, things would be much harder. I cry when someone goes out of their way to make my son feel safe and included. I've connected with other parents through this blog to get support and hopefully to give it. I've also met another local mom who is working with me as a co founder for a community support group Food Allergies Families of Rockland. So it's not all bad.

I don't think I even told you our story of how this all began. Since today is our anniversary, it's time I shared it with you. Let me start with that there was no family history with nut or peanut allergies that we knew of. Neither my husband nor myself have any food allergies. We were not told to wait till he was 2 years old since there was no history. When Cormac was about 14-15 months old we decided to try peanut butter. I waited until we had some Benedryl in the house just in case. It was a first time mom thing. I really didn't think he had allergies. I first tested it on his skin, again no real reason just did it that way. No reaction. So he had his first PB&J. Still no reaction. So I'm thinking we're all good. That year at Easter he had some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and other chocolate candies. Again no reaction. Two more PB&J's later and all was still good.

So that's at least 4 times the kid had peanut butter without a reaction. Well #5 was the winner. A very good friend came over for a play date which we planned on having lunch. While I was getting our food ready she asked if Cormac could have a peanut butter cracker. I said yes, so she made him and her son some. When I come out of the kitchen she says I think his eyes look funny. I thought, oh he's just tired since it was very close to nap time. Within five minutes we knew it wasn't that he was tired. His eyes were swelling and swelling fast!

She said I think it's the peanut butter. I still was not convinced because he had had it at least 4 times already, and he hadn't even eaten any of it this time. Well we figured out he rubbed his eyes with his peanut butter coated hands.

Now we're getting really scared. His eyes were now swelled closed and the size of golf balls, and he was getting a bit lethargic. I gave him some Benedryl, started a bath and, called the Dr., as well as my husband who was luckily down at the library in town. The Dr was out so I called the emergency number. He called back fast, told me to give him more Benedryl and if his breathing started to get bad go to the ER. Luckily that didn't happen. The Benedryl seemed to calm things down pretty quickly.

Photo 1. taken 20 minutes after exposure. Photo's 2. and 3. taken 3 hours after exposure.

He was now able to open his eyes, but when he did I was totally freaked out! The whites of his eyes had swollen so much that they were starting to cover his iris's! They looked like someone put a ton of clear jelly like stuff in them.

He was no longer lethargic but was crying in pain. This however didn't last long thank God. The Dr called back to check on him 20 minutes after our first call. We updated him that Cormac seems to be improving. He again said to watch his breathing and call 911 if any hives appeared, his breathing changed, passed out, or started vomiting. None of that happened so we stayed home. It took over 24 hours for the swelling to go completely down.

I think back now and think why didn't I go to the hospital? Part of it was I didn't know what was happening. It didn't make any sense to me. Cormac was able to communicate to me the same as if he were ok. I had an experienced mom with me and then my husband who both kept me calm. At no point did I feel his life was in danger, but that was my inexperience with food allergies talking.

That's our story. I can't imagine what would of happened if he actually ate the peanut butter that day. Instead of his eyes swelling it could have been his throat, mouth or tongue which would have been much more serious. After seeing a pediatric allergist twice now, and living with this for a year, we have learned so much. The one thing that scares me the most is that his next reaction could be much worse. But if and when it happens you can bet we will be calling 911. When they say knowledge is power, it's true. The more you know about food allergies the better you can keep your kids safe.

Do I wish he didn't have food allergies? You bet! But when I think about all the other illness's or disabilities he could have, I am grateful that this is just it.

A Year Gone By

Girl Scout Cookies!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Girl Scout cookies! In fact I've already polished off two box's of Somoas alone, and have threatened the hubby to not touch what's left. As usual, I first checked the label and didn't see any warning on the ones we bought for peanuts or tree nuts. The Somoas do however say, "Contains, wheat, milk and soy". I figured that since they are only made once a year, it would be vague, or full of cross contamination warnings. Very doubtful, I went on their web site to find out about their allergen labeling policies.

According to the Girl Scout web site, the cookies are made by two different bakers, Little Brownie Bakers and ABC Smart Cookies. I bet you can imagine how excited I was that both companies do more than the minimum when it comes to their allergy warnings! Both state they practice in cautionary labeling for cross contamination. Even better was the information was easy to find in the FAQ section.

If only all companies would be as responsible with their labeling. I don't think they understand how loyal food allergy sufferers can be when they find an company that is responsible.

I am truly excited that my little man will get to eat one of my most favorite treats (if I share that is). It makes me proud that when I was a little girl I was in such a considerate and wonderful organization. Thank you Girl Scouts!

Girl Scout Cookies!

Always the same.

Finally beautiful weather to take the little guy to the park today. I was not the only parent with that idea. The park was buzzing with kids today and it felt so good. Our guy had a great time.

As usual I had his epipen on me. I didn't bring a bag so it was sticking out of my pocket a little. I think any mom with a child who suffers from food allergies can spot and epipen a mile away. That's what happened today and I'm glad.

This very nice mom to a beautiful little boy came up to me and asked if Mac had food allergies? I of course said yes and then laughed because I remember the epipen sticking out of my pocket. She said I have mine in my bag. We got to talking and comparing allergies.

Whenever I meet someone who has a child with food allergies they all same the same two things:

1. How it is such a life changing diagnosis.

2. How alone they felt when hearing those works your child has a life threatening allergy to...

The second one always make me so sad. Why is it that we feel so alone? There are over 12 million people estimated to have food allergies. I am meeting people all the time now who have to deal with them in their families or just know someone.

I am reminded once again that more research, education and awareness is needed. I told her about the support group Helen and I are starting and she was excited to hear about it. I hope she comes. This is the exact reason I wanted to do this. We need to be there for each other, and learn from each other. Most importantly we need to know we are not the only ones.

Always the same.

The NY Mets are stepping up to the plate!

NY Mets Peanut Control Night

Tuesday May 3rd. @7:10 pm

vs. San Francisco Giants

A while back I mentioned that the NY mets are going to have a peanut control night, but didn't have all the details. Well I heard from them and want to share. It's not a peanut free game, but there will be a peanut free suite, with a peanut free menu offered to the fans in the suite. The ticket price includes the food, beverages (non alcoholic), and the safety of the suite. It's pricey ($90.90 per person), and not the best time for kids to go to a game, but it's a start. The suite will also be power washed prior to the game to add to the safety.

During my original conversation with their rep, I was told that only 45 General Admission tickets (no assigned seats), will be available online only. I was also told if this is successful (meaning sold out or close to it), they will look into adding more peanut control games to the schedule.

I did mention that people with peanut allergies generally are allergic to other foods and hope that they will allow those individuals to bring their own with them. I do not know if that is something they will allow, so I suggest you call.

As I am a Met fan and the hubby is a Yankee fan, this has to be a success in order to sway the little man into the Mets camp. Here is the link again to the info.

The NY Mets are stepping up to the plate!

Hives twice in one week!

It's been a tiring week and a half so far. The little man has had a bad cold and cough accompanied by a fever 3 nights in a row that would spike at 4 pm each day. He would have no fever during the day but a 4 he would get a fever ranging for 102-103.2. It hasn't been fun for anyone. Lack of sleep is getting to both me and daddy. Jim just says Mac is prepping us for the new baby. Personally I'd like the next 5 months to get as much sleep as I can.

On top of that we had 2 incidents of hives in 6 days. Keep in mind hives have never been a symptom with Cormac. We only had one food allergy reaction to peanut butter and that was bad. Swollen eyes to the size of gold balls, as well as the whites of his eye swelling over the iris's. It looked like gel. Very scary and painful for him, but no hives.

Back to the hives. While Jim and I were at the big ultrasound finding Mac is going to have a little brother, he was at a play date. We totally trust the two moms (and still do), that were watching him. Both are well informed about his allergies and know what to do if something happens. Yeah for good friends!

Apparently the dog licked him around his eye. His eyes then got watery, red and itchy, and one or two hives appeared on his for head. They called us and told us what was happening. They wanted to give him benedryl like our action plan says to, but they weren't in a panic. Since Cormac has been around this dog and many others without incident, we weren't in a panic either but concerned. By the time we go there the benedryl cleared it all up and if they didn't call us we never would of know about it.

We talked about what he ate while there, and determined it wasn't the cause. So this led us to believe he's either allergic to the dog, or something the dog ate. I'm leaning toward the dog food, since he has been around this dog many times and never had an issue. But we aren't 100% on that.

Five days later we had two neighborhood parties to go to. Lets just say St. Patrick's day is HUGE here. Our little town boasts that we have the second largest St. paddy's Day parade in NY, just after the NYC parade. So there are parties everywhere. Both parties we were invited to are at houses we frequent and allergy aware.

At party #1, we knew ahead of time that the chicken nuggets were safe as well as some of the cupcakes made by another neighbor. She had called me the day before to tell me she made Mac safe cupcakes for both parties. As usual she told me what she used to make them. All safe.

Needless to say we let him have both. After about 10 minuets of him eating the cupcake his little face broke out in hives. My sister in-laws brought it to my attention as we were saying good by to out hosts. So this time I got a little panicked. I still haven't had this happen to him while I was there. Hives covered his chin and cheeks. One of the moms who was at the play date earlier in the week, was there and said this was much worse than what happened at the play date.

We gave him bebedryl, and in 10 minutes it cleared right up. Now there with a few other kids at the party that have peanut and tree nut allergies and didn't have a problem, with the cupcakes. Plus I know they were peanut and tree nut free. So for the last week I have been racking my brain as to what could have cause it. He only ate the frosting not even the cake. Since we feel so comfortable at this house, and were outside most of the time, I think both me and the hubby let our guard down. They were many people there who deal with his allergies often, and I think we took that for granted. There were many kids there and of course food everywhere. Maybe he got his sticky little hands on something when we weren't looking. I feel so bad. It could have been so much worse. Lesson learned. But at the same time, the unknown cause was still nagging me.

So this whole week I've been a bit obsessed. I called my cupcake making friend and asked her about the frosting ingredients again. The only thing I can question now is the egg whites. (which is not on his list of no no foods). Our friend is very diligent when it comes to Cormacs allergies, so I'm 100% sure it wasn't nuts or peanuts. He's always been able to eat things with eggs baked in it. We did have to stay way from straight eggs for a while because he would get splotchy, but he seemed to grow out of it, and we got the OK from the allergist to go ahead and bring them back. He hasn't had any issues with them since.

We never made it to the 2nd party, but managed to make it to the parade. I'm still very frustrated about not being able to pinpoint the cause of his hives. Like everything else with food allergies, I'm left with unanswered questions.

Hives twice in one week!

Lets talk positives: Littlescoops Ice Cream Parlor and More!!

After following the heartbreaking story of the little girl in Fl, I thought some positives were in order. This week was a very busy week for us. We had 2 birthday parties, received a phone call from the NY Mets, and, we found out today that Cormac is going to have a little brother! That's two crazy boys in my house. I can't wait.

Ok lets get to the details. The first birthday party was at an ice cream parlor called Littlescoops. Normally I would have been very scared to go to a party at and ice cream parlor, but not here. The host of the party is good friend and had asked all the food allergy questions I would have asked and more before even booking the party (thanks Willlie). She called me and I was floored about the response she got. The owner was very informed about food allergies and cross contamination. She even knew that M&M's are not safe for peanut allergic kids. The host and the owner decided to keep nuts out of the mix. How lucky are we that we have such great friends!

After hearing how great they were being, I had to call myself to confirm and ask some questions. The owner Michelle was great. Turns out her daughter suffers from tree nut allergies, so she had no problem with me asking so many questions, and even answered most of them before I had the chance to ask. I asked if we could bring our own toppings and she said bring what ever you need too. She told us vanilla soft serve ice cream was what was safest, told me the brand of chocolate syrup they used, and gladly gave me the name and number of the pizza place they get their pizza from. The pizza guys were just as nice. I wish I had their name for you.

Topping I brought with us: sprinkles, chocolate chips, crushed Oreo cookies, mini marshmallow's, teddy grams, and Sweetart Hearts.

Eating their pizza. How cute is this kid size counter!

To think I would never have even considered this as an option. We are adding Littlescoops to our b-day party venue list. They play games with them, danced, and the kids had a great time. Their website says they have other locations in NY, NJ and FL. Check them out. It's so rare to find a great FA friendly place.

Enjoying his ice cream before I could even put the toppings on it!

In our other positive news, The NY Mets will have a peanut free suite available for their May 3rd game again the Giants. The tickets will available online only. It will include a peanut free menu. I suggested that families be able to bring their own food for their allergic children if they have more than a peanut allergy. I hope that will be allowed. The suite will be power washed prior to the game as well. They will be sending me more details when the tickets are available for purchase. If it sells out, they will consider doing another game! I will update you as soon as I get the info.

Well that's all for now. Stay safe!

Lets talk positives: Littlescoops Ice Cream Parlor and More!!