Our Allergy Adventure

Our family of seven began an "Allergy Adventure" right before Christmas this past year when we discovered that the health issues my 13 year old son was having were being caused by severe food allergies.

My son had been getting violently ill for at least a month and I had suspected he might be having an issue with his gallbladder. During these "attacks" one of his worst symptoms would be writhing on the ground shaking from pain. As a mom it was an awful thing to watch. I felt very small and helpless as there was I could do to help my son during one of his "attacks" but to hold his hand and pray. 

It first started in November, and I remember him getting sick in the middle of the night. He was in excruciating pain and begged for me to do something to stop it. I so wish that I could have. Not knowing what was wrong with him, I called the exchange. I was told to continue to watch him and ended up taking him to the pediatrician the next morning. He was given the diagnosis of indigestion and the doctor gave me a suggestion about what medication to purchase at the store for him. 

The second time it happened, I though maybe it was indigestion again. This soon became a pattern and my gut told me something was wrong and that these "episodes" were far from normal. After seeing a GI doctor, we started ruling out some things. When the doctor suggested it could be a reaction to food, I didn't believe him. I was so sure it had to be a gallbladder problem because much of his symptoms mirrored the gall stone symptoms that I had had about ten years earlier. We had some blood drawn, did an ultrasound and ultimately an endoscopy. The results showed an esophagus issue, most likely caused by food allergies. 

After seeing the GI doc, our next step was to make an appointment with an allergist. I was left scratching my head and re-playing meals in my head to try to figure out who the possible "culprit" could be that my son was allergic to. I couldn't remember any one specific thing that had made my son sick, so I kept with my puzzling as we waited for the allergy appointment to roll around. Cooking soon became a thing of dread for me because I realized anything I might be feeding my son could be what was causing all of our problems. 

Our allergy appointment was finally here, and my son who was terrified of needles got dozens of "pin pricks" all over both of his arms. Within minutes both of his arms were full of bright red dots that were rapidly expanding in size. After the 15 minutes had passed, the allergist remarked that he had not one food allergy but was "highly allergic" to MANY kinds of food. Turns out he is very allergic to eggs (both yolks and egg whites), soy, peanuts, tree nuts, cottonseed, sunflowers, most fruits, and even oddball things like celery, garlic, and chocolate.

In those 15 minutes our list of "What's for dinner?" choices got smaller and smaller, and a lot more complicated. I was told by the allergist to cut out all of these items from his diet and that we would do more testing the following week. 

Leaving the allergist's office I was feeling quite overwhelmed. A friend of mine's daughter had most of my son's allergies and then several more big ones piled on top. Because of this I know their menu could be very challenging at times, mostly because of the fact that nearly all processed foods contain her long list of allergens.

I thought to myself that my friend had one child, but I have five. How in the world was I going to make two separate meals every meal, to feed all of my family members? One safe for Ethan and one for the rest of us...

I took my first post-diagnosis trip to the grocery store later that evening. It took me at least two hours just to read all the labels on a tiny cart-full of items. I soon became frustrated as soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, or hydrogenated oils were an ingredient in nearly every box or can that I picked up. I was frustrated to learn even at the deli counter that soy is an ingredient in the fresh sliced meats as well. 

I realized pretty quickly that the way I used to shop, "Let's get this kind because it's cheaper" wasn't going to work anymore. I remember picking up two boxes and in the allergy-aisle and thinking, "Well, I think he can have this, but I'm not so sure." 

The following day I took the day off of school to rummage through my pantry. As a mom of many, I love to buy in bulk, but I soon discovered that nearly every item in my cupboards had one or more of his allergens in it, or was cross-contaminated (made in a place that processed foods with these same items) with allergens. As I sat in a kitchen full of food I became very overwhelmed thinking, "Well, it looks like we've got nothing to eat!"

I finally just told myself that the only way I was going to be able to make this work was to make everything from scratch. My son has a tendency to sneak a snack or two from time to time, so I determined that all this food was going to have to go, so I bagged them all up and donated them to some families I knew that would appreciate them. 

I soon realized that what I called "cooking from scratch" was much closer to "semi-homemade" than I had ever imagined. I made a few more trips to the grocery store, as well as Trader Joes and Whole Foods. I was really hoping to find more items for an egg-free, soy-free diet, but unless you're gluten-free, there's really not a lot to choose from even at these specialty stores. 
So, instead of stocking up on pre-made items, I stocked up on baking goods and dusted off my old Betty Crocker cookbook. (You know the bright orange one your mom or grandma probably had.) Soon every meal became an experiment as to what was good and what was truly awful, and what in the world could I possibly make without eggs and garlic--two of the main staples in the O'Fallon household!

It's been quite an experience, but I'm happy to say we've found more than just a few winning recipes. Cooking completely "clean" and from scratch has now become a way of life. I've become obsessed with trying new recipes and improving my old ones, so much so that it has almost become a kind of art form for me. Meal planning has even become more fun than I could ever have imagined. As an added bonus to a new hobby for mom, my son is feeling good and is back to his old, onery, healthy self again, and that is truly what makes me smile.