Allergy Approved Goody Box

Our little big man, Moo, turns 3 at the end of this September and has been chomping at the bit to go to school like his big brothers (ages 4 and 6). So, after much deliberation, we decided to enroll him in the "Young 3s" class at the private preschool and kindergarten his brothers have attended. It meets 2 days per week for 3 hrs. and is focused around child-centered learning activities...right up our ally. However, with any form of school comes birthdays and other in-school celebrations involving sweet nothings and yummy treats...no small thing for a wee one with a host of severe food allergies.


Because of the severity of Moo's allergies, I have a strict understanding with the school that he is to consume only those items which are sent in from home. This goes for both regular snack times and celebrations alike. In order to keep my sweet munchkin from feeling like an outcast at special celebrations in school, I created for him an "Allergy Approved Goody Box". I packed it full of sweet treats that he doesn't have regularly so that it would be special when he is allowed to have something from it. The idea is that whenever there is a party/celebration involving food brought in by someone else, Moo will get to go to his goody box and choose a treat that I can rest assured is safe for him.


Now, before you judge the selection of goodies too harshly, let me remind you that these have to be able to compete with cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and more! They are not all-natural yummies and yes, they do have some artificial this-n-that in them, but he does not eat them all the time and they are intended to be out of the ordinary. And, of course, I must point out the ever important Epi Pen Jr. located at the upper edge of the box (as well as a medication administration plan in his file in the school office)...one can never be too careful when it comes to anaphylaxis.

If you have a little one (or not-so-little one) attending school this year, I would highly recommend talking to his/her teacher and administrator about having a goody box on hand for similar occasions. It certainly has helped to give me a sense of peace about letting my sweet Moo spread his wings and go to school.

God is So Good!

For those of you who have been following with me for a while, you know the struggles we have had with our sweet little 2 year old and his host of allergies. To say he has food allergies is putting it mildly...in fact, he was diagnosed with 7 of the "Big 8" at only 9 months of age (he wasn't tested for seafood/shellfish because he was so young). Fortunately, we've been able to keep his eczema under control (by making his soap and cream from scratch!) and his seasonal allergies (which we suspect he has) have been relatively mild this year. However, the foodies have landed us in the emergency room once this summer and have led to 1 or 2 near emergency admissions. In all cases, the offending food has been unknown...nothing new, nothing he hasn't eaten before without incident, and nothing to which we could directly relate the rapid downward spiral of his respiratory system during each event.

Last Friday, I took our sweet angel to his first visit with a new allergist. Long story, but let's suffice it to say that I never took him back to the former allergist who, despite being the head of the Department of Pediatric Allergies for a prominent medical center, did not impress me at all (1 of his many ridiculous recommendations was to feed my son "nothing but potatoes...mashed, chopped, sliced in order to play with texture, but nothing but potatoes"...can you imagine?!). He also refused to order an Epi Pen Jr. for Micah, despite the fact that he tested highly reactive to many of the offending foods (the highest score possible on milk, casein, egg, and peanut/tree nuts).

Fortunately, I adore her new allergist, who is equally credentialed on paper and has a much better bedside manner to boot! We now have an Epi Pen Jr. and an allergist I trust to give my son the absolute best care possible. And the best part, following a skin test in her office, we learned that his soy allergy has resolved, wheat is barely perceptible, and egg (though still significant) has decreased measurably in reactivity. She also believes there is a strong possibility that he could out grow his milk allergy, leaving us with peanuts/tree nuts as the biggest offenders...that I can handle!

We still may not know exactly what set off the 3 episodes this summer, but I am much more comfortable with the way things stand. In the end, I am happy to now have a medical provider that I can trust to have my son's best interests at heart and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the healing he has experienced so far is no mere coincidence...I am above all else thankful that the Greatest Physician is watching over my son and working to heal him day by day...God is Good!!