amazing
Today, driving home from North Pole, I got myself a nice cup of fancy coffee and got Jedidiah a cup of hot chocolate. He took a sip and said, "Man, this hot chocolate is delicious."
Suddenly I felt myself a bit overcome; I was so happy to hear him enjoying that cocoa.
See, when Jed was about 6 months old we found out that he was allergic to food. Not all food, mind you, he could eat blueberries, rice and sweet potatoes. We took the poor baby in because he was losing weight, was having stomach issues, and had developed a bumpy rash all over his body that made him look like a skinny, plucked chicken. Figuring out that he had multiple food allergies was helpful, in that we knew the cause for his sickness, but it didn't help us figure out foods this kid could eat without getting sick.
I had to stop breastfeeding, since everything I ate was making him sick. We did find a baby formula consisting of synthetic proteins that he could digest, which meant he was getting nutrition finally (at $27 per can). The Nutramagin, supplemented with berries, sweet taters and rice, meant that he could at least eat and the rashes started getting better. We had to have baby Prevacid specially formulated by a local pharmacy lab, and he required daily coverings with a special cream that fought the yeast infections that tended to take over his skin. Within 2 months of his diagnosis, he started to look like a normal baby!
Jed was initially allergic to wheat, corn, soy, rye, barley, potato, beef, pork, chicken, turkey, garlic, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, milk/dairy, bananas, grapes, apples....and I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Research indicates that if children can be kept completely away from the foods that they're allergic to, the chances of them outgrowing the allergies increases, so that became my mission.
It was tough - it's amazing how few foods are available that don't contain one of the above items. All of the typical baby foods that parents start with - yogurt, cheerios, applesauce - were off limits.
When Jed was a year old, we did another round of allergy tests, which consisted of blood work as well as a "scratch" test, where different allergens are scratched into his skin and the reaction measured. The tests are horrible, both the crying while the blood is drawn, and the horrible itching Jed went through on the scratch tests. The good news was that Jed's numbers (the amount of IeG allergen antibody in his system for each tested food) were going down in some areas. After 3 more months, we started introducing different foods and had some success.
Allergies are funny things. Jed outgrew his allergy to turkey, but still couldn't have chicken. He could eat cooked apples, like in applesauce, but still reacted to raw apples. The addition of ground turkey meat to his diet was huge - I developed a great recipe for turkey meatballs, with rice and grated carrots. His babysitter would take the kids to McDonald's, break up pieces of rice cake and put them in a french fry bag so that he could have a "treat." Carrot juice and rice milk were treats to the kid; at least I knew he was eating healthy. I got creative, trying to figure out ways to vary his limited diet and make him feel like he could participate in all of our daily routines involving food.
Getting enough protein and calcium was always an issue, and when he was able to tolerate soy, so many options were opened. When he was almost 4, we tried potatoes successfully. You've never seen true happiness until you've witnessed a 4 year old eat his first french fry. Ummmmmmm.
So now he's 7 and able to drink a hot chocolate from a coffee stand. He's outgrown almost all of his allergies, the biggies still being wheat/rye/barley and peanuts. Still, his allergies, although he had a lot, have managed to stay pretty under control. We've never had to rush him to the emergency room, and he can be in the same room as peanuts, as opposed to some children who go into anaphylaxis simply from breathing peanut particles in the air. His worse reaction ever was when we did a food challenge in the dr's office with eggs. His little eyes swelled shut and he looked like a boxer who lost a title fight.
As I look at my boy, it's hard to believe he was ever so sickly and looked so skinny and bumpy. Our friend Chris, who kept Jed from the time he was 6 months until he was 3, once told me that part of the reason she agreed to take him on was that he looked so miserable, but had such a happy disposition. He still gets to celebrate each birthday with a visit to the doctor and another round of allergy tests, but each year brings better news. Today he can have a pretty normal diet, when he chooses to eat it. Since his dairy allergy subsided a year ago, he's discovered chocolate. Halloween is a whole new experience.
So I'm celebrating the little things in life today, like my son drinking cocoa. Life is good.
Suddenly I felt myself a bit overcome; I was so happy to hear him enjoying that cocoa.
See, when Jed was about 6 months old we found out that he was allergic to food. Not all food, mind you, he could eat blueberries, rice and sweet potatoes. We took the poor baby in because he was losing weight, was having stomach issues, and had developed a bumpy rash all over his body that made him look like a skinny, plucked chicken. Figuring out that he had multiple food allergies was helpful, in that we knew the cause for his sickness, but it didn't help us figure out foods this kid could eat without getting sick.
I had to stop breastfeeding, since everything I ate was making him sick. We did find a baby formula consisting of synthetic proteins that he could digest, which meant he was getting nutrition finally (at $27 per can). The Nutramagin, supplemented with berries, sweet taters and rice, meant that he could at least eat and the rashes started getting better. We had to have baby Prevacid specially formulated by a local pharmacy lab, and he required daily coverings with a special cream that fought the yeast infections that tended to take over his skin. Within 2 months of his diagnosis, he started to look like a normal baby!Jed was initially allergic to wheat, corn, soy, rye, barley, potato, beef, pork, chicken, turkey, garlic, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, milk/dairy, bananas, grapes, apples....and I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Research indicates that if children can be kept completely away from the foods that they're allergic to, the chances of them outgrowing the allergies increases, so that became my mission.
It was tough - it's amazing how few foods are available that don't contain one of the above items. All of the typical baby foods that parents start with - yogurt, cheerios, applesauce - were off limits. When Jed was a year old, we did another round of allergy tests, which consisted of blood work as well as a "scratch" test, where different allergens are scratched into his skin and the reaction measured. The tests are horrible, both the crying while the blood is drawn, and the horrible itching Jed went through on the scratch tests. The good news was that Jed's numbers (the amount of IeG allergen antibody in his system for each tested food) were going down in some areas. After 3 more months, we started introducing different foods and had some success.
Allergies are funny things. Jed outgrew his allergy to turkey, but still couldn't have chicken. He could eat cooked apples, like in applesauce, but still reacted to raw apples. The addition of ground turkey meat to his diet was huge - I developed a great recipe for turkey meatballs, with rice and grated carrots. His babysitter would take the kids to McDonald's, break up pieces of rice cake and put them in a french fry bag so that he could have a "treat." Carrot juice and rice milk were treats to the kid; at least I knew he was eating healthy. I got creative, trying to figure out ways to vary his limited diet and make him feel like he could participate in all of our daily routines involving food.
Getting enough protein and calcium was always an issue, and when he was able to tolerate soy, so many options were opened. When he was almost 4, we tried potatoes successfully. You've never seen true happiness until you've witnessed a 4 year old eat his first french fry. Ummmmmmm.
So now he's 7 and able to drink a hot chocolate from a coffee stand. He's outgrown almost all of his allergies, the biggies still being wheat/rye/barley and peanuts. Still, his allergies, although he had a lot, have managed to stay pretty under control. We've never had to rush him to the emergency room, and he can be in the same room as peanuts, as opposed to some children who go into anaphylaxis simply from breathing peanut particles in the air. His worse reaction ever was when we did a food challenge in the dr's office with eggs. His little eyes swelled shut and he looked like a boxer who lost a title fight.
As I look at my boy, it's hard to believe he was ever so sickly and looked so skinny and bumpy. Our friend Chris, who kept Jed from the time he was 6 months until he was 3, once told me that part of the reason she agreed to take him on was that he looked so miserable, but had such a happy disposition. He still gets to celebrate each birthday with a visit to the doctor and another round of allergy tests, but each year brings better news. Today he can have a pretty normal diet, when he chooses to eat it. Since his dairy allergy subsided a year ago, he's discovered chocolate. Halloween is a whole new experience.
So I'm celebrating the little things in life today, like my son drinking cocoa. Life is good.
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