For the past seventeen years Andrew has been dealing with a life filled with allergies. It wasnt as difficult when he was little because he didnt know any different the only struggle was knowing how he felt. He was allergic to dairy products when he was a baby. When he was three they told us to avoid peanuts and lots of environmental allergies and animals to avoid. As years went by he finally outgrew the dairy allergy and I fondly remember the first time he tried regular cows milk. He hated it, he thought it was disgusting. He has never been crazy about milk since but he loves cheese. Five years ago his life was turned upside down and we had to completely change his diet because he had so many new allergies that were in all of the foods he was eating and of course all the foods that he loved. As we have found more and more safe foods and as more and more products are being made without wheat, barley, oats, corn and tree nuts it has become easier for him to eat more variety at home. The only positive thing that happened five years ago is he was allowed to have peanuts. He didnt have a clue what peanut butter tasted like but he always had commented how good it would smell. He was in love with peanut butter from that first day five years ago. Reeses peanut butter cups have saved the day many times over the past five years, they always seem to cheer him up lol. It was our hope that he would outgrow these allergies before he leaves for College to change his quality of life. However, last month he added a new allergy to his list, shrimp. His allergist tells us that he now has to avoid shrimp, lobster, crab, and crawfish to his list of unsafe foods, oh great! But today he went through a food challenge to see if his body can tolerate wheat now. The good news is that he has passed the 3 hour test in the Drs office so if he doesnt have any reaction within the next 24 hours he will gain back wheat. Unfortunately he is still allergic to barley so he will still have to be careful of breads. He wont be able to have all purpose flour because barley is combined with wheat. He will be able to have 100% whole wheat bread which is a major bonus! Its much cheaper than his tapioca or brown rice bread that is $5.00 a loaf. I am so proud of the way he has responded to all the disappointments when it comes to eating but I am very thankful to the understanding of his friends and their families.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 15:43:10 +0000
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