I am the mother of 2 amazing, intelligent and gorgeous children. My youngest, Cohen has been diagnosed with food allergies to - milk, eggs, nuts, wheat, rice, corn, oats, soy, chicken, fish, potatoes, peas, lupin.
When people learn of his allergies they are amazed. At 4 weeks old Cohen was a distressed baby covered in excema.....today he is a picture of health. He eats a full balanced diet, his skin is clear and soft (yes! he got his baby skin back!!!!! ), he is happy and exceeding all his developmental milestones. I am so grateful.
My challenge for the past 2 years has been basically one of research and experimenting in the kitchen. My efforts have paid off so far, but by no means are they complete. If my journey can help or bring hope to another parent caring for a child with food allergy than the rewards are two-fold.
When Cohen was diagnosed with so many allergies, a gamut of emotions welled up inside of me and the tears flowed.... all kinds of thoughts and fears bombarded my headspace.
Initially, I was devastated and felt helpless, wondering how I was going to feed this child. An overwhelming feeling of panic filled me. A mothers role is to care and nurture her child - how could I do this when he was allergic to so much?
I knew I had to keep my emotions in check in front of my kids....I had to let the panic go and take control. After all, this was the first step towards some kind of answer. This was what we had been searching for- it wasn't a cure but an explanation as to why he was suffering. My challenge before me....I could now 'do' something to help him. My first objective was total avoidance of all his allergens. Easier said than done, but we have managed this to date. Although I'm sure some family members and friends have suspected me of being neurotic and paranoid. They are probably right - but seriously, what's the alternative? If I have offended anyone by putting my son's health condition first then too bad..... I kind of love having him around and this is a life/death situation so I make no apologies.
Next... feeding him. I have spent most of the past 2 years in the kitchen experimenting - some utter failures and a lot of successes... like the best ever chocolate cake- no eggs, wheat or milk. then there's the frustration of the most amazing dish that he can eat- but he won't touch it....grrr...This is an ongoing challenge. I am in the process of putting together a cookbook so I can help other parents going through the same thing.
We have had an interesting and challenging journey.I have learnt so much and still have so much to learn about this topic.
There are many reasons for this blog - to get all this information out of my head, to educate people of the existence and dangers of food allergies, to raise awareness of the condition and most importantly to support and hopefully bring hope to other parents who care for these gorgeous kids.
Hopefully soon we will have some answers and maybe even a cure.
Labels: Our Story