Allergy Season!

It's allergy season. Jay gets two allergy injections every week, and he's had some bad reactions, so he's taking additional meds prior to the shots. The shots aren't helping with his symptoms yet, and he, along with E, got hit a few weeks ago. As of this past weekend, Nate and GracieGirl are ready to rip their eyes out, too. I didn't even think about it, but E's PCA was here today, and she said that the trampoline is covered with pollen. What a way to kick it up, by jumping on it! No wonder the kids started hurting yesterday!

E just screams because his eyes are so swollen and itchy. He rubbed them so hard that he actually broke the skin and has scabs under his eye. He's had a number of asthma flares, and he also broke out in an itchy rash on his wrists. He wakes up crying and screaming during the night, and I know he's exhausted.

Spring was always my favorite season, but it's hard to enjoy it when I have to watch all four of my kiddos suffer. I'd love to open the windows, but that's out of the question. So, we have the a/c running in April. Even so, Jay just took five ice packs up to bed because he's so hot. Of course, he won't change out of his ever-present long sleeves and jeans. There's no point in arguing with him, so I just hope that he falls asleep soon!

Allergy Shots and Springtime

Jay got his first allergy shots on Tuesday. He got shots for dogs and cats on his right arm, and trees and dust mites on his left. His right arm is fine; his left arm is not. It's actually so swollen, hot, and itchy that it kept him awake until 3:00 this morning. Two days after receiving the shot, the swelling has not gone down at all.

I called the allergist today, and the nurse recommended tying an ice-filled bag around his arm, giving him B-dryl (which we've been doing), using hydrocortisone cream, and giving ibuprofen. She was going to ask the doctor about possibly increasing his dose of regular allergy meds, and also about taking something on the day he receives his weekly shots. She didn't get back to me.

Needless to say, Jay is not thrilled to get another shot next Tuesday. I just hope the swelling goes down before then.

Meanwhile, spring is here and it's warmer than usual. For the most part, we're keeping the windows closed because tree pollen is very high and grasses have started, too. All four kids are responding with sneezing, itchy, watery eyes, and runny noses.

Let the fun begin!

Bribery Week

We've learned that the key to successful parenting is bribery.

Some people may judge, but for us, it's all about survival. :)

Monday was the allergist for Jay and GracieGirl. Jay's dust mite allergy is off the charts. I haven't found a free housekeeper yet and allergy meds aren't cutting it, so the good doctor (he's one of the few that I actually like, even if we don't always agree) once again suggested allergy shots. I'd told him before that we will never again attempt anything involving a needle unless general anesthesia is involved. However, with the use of bribery, Jay actually had a "test run" shot in the office, and agreed to weekly allergy shots. Unbelievable.

Next was GracieGirl. The doctor is now thinking wheat allergy rather than celiac disease. He ordered another blood test, and then wants to do skin tests again. Bribery will be involved because GracieGirl has had both tests before and knows what she's in for!

E didn't have an appointment but he went along for the ride, and the allergist was very happy that he was in such good shape, just a week after being so sick.

Tuesday morning was E's fasting blood draw morning. He remembered the lab and wanted no part of it. There were tears but no screaming, so it could have (and has been) worse. Thank you, bribery.

Tuesday afternoon was Jay's appointment with his autism doctor. There have been many issues recently, but the doctor didn't get to witness any of them. Why? Because Jay knew that, after this appointment, he was getting his reward for surviving the allergy shot the day before!

One of the behavior therapists is here every Tuesday evening for Jay and E, and last week, she pushed Jay a little bit too hard for his liking. So he was not at all cooperative with her this week (understatement). She appreciates bribery and my guess is that she'll need to start using it again with him!

Wednesday was reading support and then the chiropractor for Jay, but he actually tolerates those two, so it was all good. He also had reading support on Monday and again yesterday. He's doing amazingly well, and even though he doesn't love going there (his teacher stopped giving him chocolate after each lesson!), I know that he's proud of his accomplishments.

Right now, Nate and Jay are seeing the orthodontist. Nate's appointment won't be fun, but this will be a particularly tough appointment for Jay. I had to figure out that fine line between telling him enough so that he's prepared without telling him so much that he's riddled with anxiety. He took two doses of a sedative prior to the appointment, so I'm just praying that it works.

Nick gets Father of the Year Award for taking the kids to every single one of these appointments (I was conference called in for a few of them), in addition to social skills classes, a school board meeting, two homeschool classes, youth groups, kids' groups, and soccer!

Finally, I have the quote of the week. I'm going to keep it anonymous, although most people who know my kids could easily guess who said it. It was said at an appointment to one of the doctors who loves to inquire about bowel issues. Every single time, the response has been that there are no problems. This response: "Well, yesterday I had a poop that was the size of a wedding cake!"

All I can say is that if we ever lose our sense of humor, we're in trouble!

*********************************

Adventures in Cookie-Making

I continue to hang on to Normal Rockwell imagines, especially when it comes to the holidays. One would think that I would have given up on that years ago.

We decided to make Christmas cookies. Roll-out cookies, to be precise. I pictured candles burning, Christmas music playing, the family gathered around the table, laughing and making cookies together.

It was originally Jay's idea to make cookies, and he'd searched online for a recipe. He found one and printed it out, and was later devastated to learn that it was a regular sugar cookies recipe, not a roll-out recipe. (Totally not his fault; the recipe pictured roll-out cookies!)

Meltdown #1.

That was a couple of days ago. We made them anyway, with the promise that we'd also make roll-out cookies.

It took me two days (recovering from making the first batch) to make the roll-out cookies. Jay and I made the recipe, and then we all sat down to roll out the cookies. Within minutes, I noticed that GracieGirl became agitated. Then, she started flipping out, scratching at her arms, crying because they itched so badly. It was driving her crazy, and we quickly gave her medicine and took her upstairs for a bath.

As a baby, GracieGirl couldn't handle gluten. She didn't have gluten for several years, and then we reintroduced wheat. It wasn't a conscious effort, really, more just laziness on my part. She seemed to do fine with it, but slowly started having some symptoms again. The allergist was sure that she had Celiac Disease, and he ordered a blood test. He was very surprised when she tested negative.

In the past week, she's had some symptoms again, although we hadn't associated them with gluten. One day, she came in with a huge hive on her face. I gave her medicine and it went away. The same thing happened the following day, again, just one hive. Another time, she started crying because she said that she itched all over. Again, we gave her medicine and a bath, and she seemed to be okay. The backs of both of her legs are covered with eczema, which comes and goes but is currently back with a vengeance. She's also had a lot of GI issues.

This latest incident just kind of firmed up that it must be the wheat. She was fine until she started rolling out the cookies, using wheat flour to roll them out.

She's feeling better now. I made some Monkey Munch for her, so she wasn't too sad about not having the Christmas cookies.

Time to go pull out my GF cookies recipes!


******************************

More Allergies and More Prayer

So, after listening to Jay screaming at the top of his lungs, and having to hold him down to prevent him from bolting from the room (and this was with the sedative that J had taken before leaving the house!), Nick learned that Jay is allergic to shellfish, trees, weeds, cats, and dogs. But, dust mites are by far his worst allergy.

The night before he went in for testing, I was reading about how most kids with eczema are allergic to dust. So now I'm praying that we can get the dust in this house under control so that we can get his allergies and eczema under control!

I spent hours cleaning and dusting the bedroom, and Nick went in and vacuumed thoroughly. The allergist said that we really have to take up the carpeting, put in floors, replace the blinds, and cover the mattresses and pillows with allergy covers. I'm just praying about all of that because I have no idea how we're going to come up with the funds to do it.

Meanwhile, I've been up since 3:30 this morning because GracieGirl now has eczema on her back and legs, and she was going crazy with the itching. I gave her medicine and then held her for an hour until she stopped whimpering and went back to sleep. I'd started cleaning out her room, because she is also allergic to dust. We need to get the rug out of her room, too, and get her mattresses and pillows covered.

Now I know what my mom went through with me when I was little because I'm allergic to dust. I don't know how she found the time to clean my room each day, but that's what I need to do with our bedrooms. The problem is that I can't vacuum or do a lot of the other cleaning, and Nick's already up to his eyeballs doing all of the other things I can't do! All I know is that five out of six of us are allergic to dust, and we need to find a way to keep on top of the cleaning.

So, I'm praying for flooring, allergy covers, and someone to come clean our house! :)


Oh, and they want Jay to start weekly allergy shots immediately. I'd better pray about that one, too!

**************************************

Allergy Testing and Prayers

I really thought I was doing the right thing.

J's anxiety has been through the roof recently, and I didn't want to add to the obsessing/worrying, so I didn't tell him that he was having allergy testing.

The look on his face when he got home (yes, I made Nick take him - I still haven't gotten over the last time he was tested, eight years ago, when he literally climbed up me in an attempt to escape through the window) told me that I was wrong.

All he said was, "You knew about this?"

I nodded. The look of betrayal on his face hurt my heart.

It went downhill from there. I soon realized that there was no point in trying to explain why I hadn't told him. All he could say, over and over again, was that he wasn't prepared. He likes to be prepared. He thought he was going in for a checkup...

From there, it went to talk of his birthmom, feelings of abandonment, sad accusations that we're not his real family...

After many hours of this, he asked me what I could do to stop his pain. I told him to pray and I told him that I would pray. He asked if I would ask my friends to pray for him. I assured him that I would.

A few minutes later, he told me that he had prayed and asked God if He would remove his pain. He promised that he would spread His Gospel if He did. He added that he knew that he'd spent most of his time in the house instead of out spreading the Gospel, and he wanted to change that.

With that, he rolled over on the couch and went to sleep. Eight hours later, he's still asleep on the couch! Definitely a first...

********************************************

J's Update

Still moving towards getting J to his Social Skills Camp...

I finally spoke with his autism doctor and we're getting a game plan together. She's going to increase one of his meds. I also told her that he started Singulair a month or two ago for his allergies. Here is a list of behavioral side effects from Singulair's website. J has experienced a good number of them. So, I called his allergist and he said to stop the Singulair immediately.

J doesn't know it, but he's scheduled for allergy testing on Monday. I hope we can figure out what's causing his symptoms so that we can practice avoidance and not have to rely on meds as much!

His doctor also wants to get his eczema under control, but we can't get in to see the dermatologist until September. She wants us to see our family doctor, which I think is somewhat pointless. J's former dermatologist already said that there's nothing more that he can do for him, so I'm not sure what a family doctor can do.

We took J to an ophthalmologist because none of the drops that the allergist prescribed were working. Let's just say that the exam didn't go well. As bad as I felt for J, it was almost amusing watching the doctor, who obviously had little experience dealing with kids on the spectrum, try to figure out what to do next. It seemed that he was stumped. A nurse came hurrying in after hearing the screams, but he didn't even know what to tell her to do! So, Nick and I jumped in and we finally got through the exam, which included rolling J's eyelids back, an unpleasant experience for anyone, but torturous for a kiddo with sensory issues.

J has Allergic Conjunctivitis and has to use a steroid eye drop in addition to his regular eye drops for the next couple of weeks. Thankfully, the new drops don't sting, because I'm just not up for any more battles, especially four times a day!

J's behavior specialist is working with him, too. She's contacted the bus company to see if he can take a test ride next week, as one of his big fears is riding the bus to and from camp. They're not returning her calls. Ugh.

Oh, and J went in to see if he would be approved to see the psychologist. They did a screening and then called me the following day, accusing me of "double dipping." What??? Yep, since he's getting Wraparound and seeing a behavior specialist, it was considered double dipping when we took him to another facility to see if he can see the psychologist there. They haughtily informed me that the screening will probably not be covered by his insurance.

What can I say? They're on to me. Yes, I was trying to double dip. I was thinking that I wasn't spending enough of my spare time making phone calls, filling out paperwork, and running kids to appointments. I just had to have more!

Unbelievable.

I realize that my attitude stinks. It's just been a long, behavior-filled week, compounded by too many headaches brought on by various medical policies. I told Nick that I'm going to pack up my washer and dryer (my essentials) and move everyone to the mountains of Idaho, where we can live the simple life and never deal with any more agencies, therapies, or doctors.

He said that I've had better ideas. :)

********************************************

The Art of Making Doctors' Appointments

No matter how many times I go through this, I expect a different result. I expect that, when I need to make three appointments, I'll make three calls, talk to three different people, and put three appointments on my calendar!

It never, ever works out that way.

Ever.

Jay's been having a tough time. He's had a bad eczema flare and he's in pain. It keeps him awake at night, and the sleep deprivation makes it harder for him to handle things during the day. He's full of anxiety and just plain unhappy.

In three weeks, he's scheduled to start a Social Skills Day Camp for kids with Autism. He is in such turmoil about this! He doesn't want to ride the bus because buses are too crowded. He doesn't want to eat lunch there because he's worried that he'll gag. (He used to have reflux but outgrew it. Apparently, he's still anxious about it.) He doesn't like to be outside because of his allergies and because the heat bothers his eczema. Gnats bother his eczema. He won't swim because pool water bothers his eczema. And on it goes.

Yesterday, I thought that I'd see if he could talk to our psychologist, thinking that maybe he could figure out a way to alleviate some of Jay's anxiety.

Our home phone decided to break. We could get incoming calls but the phone didn't ring. We couldn't make outgoing calls. So, I used my cell phone. I could talk for maybe a minute and then it would disconnect. This happened over and over, which just didn't make for a smooth phone call! I finally learned that they now have walk-in evals, which start next week, and then he'll be scheduled with the psychologist, which means no appointment before camp starts.

My next call was to his dermatologist at Children's Hospital. The receptionist informed me that the doctor had moved to Ohio. I said, "Oh no, she can't do that!" The receptionist said, "Oh yes, she just did!"

Ugh. There isn't another dermatologist there, so we'll have to go to another branch to a very popular dermatologist who doesn't have any openings until September.

Great.

Jay's sensory issues make it tough for him to deal with the eczema treatments, so I called his autism doctor, again at Children's Hospital, who helps him deal with those treatments. She didn't have any appointments. We sometimes see a different doctor, so I asked about an appointment with her. She's no longer at our branch.

They told me that appointments for September opened up at 8:00 this morning and I'd better call right at 8:00 if I wanted to get an appointment.

Yes, I know that, all too well.

I called this morning and got the first available appointment...at the end of September.

So, camp should be interesting. I just keep praying for Jay because he really is struggling. Lots of issues with the holiday and his birth parents have been coming up, too, all wrapped up into one big meltdown...

************************************************

Allergies and Asthma and Eczema...oh My!

I took GracieGirl and E to the allergist today. We borrowed a van from a friend (thank you!!) so that Nick could pick Jay up from his autism class, while I took the kids. I was a little bit nervous about E getting out of control, so I pulled Nate away from his friends to come along and help. He was not thrilled.

I love our allergist, and he always keeps the kids entertained and in line. He pretended to hypnotize E with his stethoscope, and I told him that if he pulled that off, that stethoscope was coming home with me! He said that of course E couldn't sleep; he has too much energy to sleep!

He was happy with GracieGirl, except for the eczema that covers the backs of both of her legs. He wasn't happy with E at all, saying that we need to get his asthma under better control. He started him on a new med and wants to see him in three months. He also wants to do another blood test and then possibly another egg challenge, depending on the results of the blood test.

I came home with a whoppin' 14 scripts! Fourteen meds for two little kids! Unbelievable.

E was good, for the most part. He did tell the doctor that he didn't look like a doctor; he looked like he married a man. Huh?? I finally figured out that he meant that the doctor looked like a man who was getting married because he was wearing a tie! Apparently, he didn't look like a doctor because he doesn't wear a lab coat!

E did run out of the office as I was scheduling his next appointment, and then tore out of the building as we left. Couldn't have done it without Nate...

**************************************

Catching Up

Our business, Truly Pure & Natural is finally up and running. We've had a good time working on it, even though Nick has done the vast majority of the work. Some people have asked if it's a Multi-Level Marketing company, such as Shaklee or Arbonne, and it definitely is not! It's simply an eclectic collection of natural products that we use and that work for us. We're slowly adding new products that we want to share with others.

GracieGirl and E both had to have bloodwork at the beginning of the week. I dreaded it because last time, E's screams could be heard three counties away! So, I did the wise thing this time...and stayed in the car while Nick took him in. :) Amazingly, he didn't struggle or cry. Nick brought him out to the car and took GracieGirl in. Same result, not even a whimper. I want to get that tech's name and ask for her every time!

E was having blood tests to confirm the skin tests for his allergies. I was hoping and praying that he wouldn't be allergic to almonds because I'd love to be able to use almond flour as an alternative to wheat and other grains. No such luck. The doctor will call us on Monday but the nurse said that he is highly allergic to all tree nuts and eggs. Unfortunately, in E's head, the doctor said he won't die if he eats nuts! So, I've been working on convincing him that the doctor most definitely did not say that. He's been really good about asking before eating anything, and I want him to continue doing that!

GracieGirl's Celiac test didn't come back yet. I'm hoping to hear something on Monday. She's been complaining of a hurt tummy for the past few days, so I'm just praying that the test shows whether or not it's Celiac.

Jay got his sleep study results and he does not have sleep apnea and his adenoids do not need to come out. So...back to the drawing board. I'm still waiting to hear back from the sleep specialist, and he sees his autism doctor in a few days, so we continue trying to find some answers!

I don't even know what to say about E. His behavior continues to worsen. I asked Nick if it was me, thinking that maybe I'm just getting too old and burnt out for all of this. He said that it definitely was not me! (I knew that, but I just had to confirm it!) The good news is that I'm getting support, which means so much. People have suggested things like bi-polar, RAD, and ODD. Hard to hear at first, but now I just want answers. I filled out a 15-page request for evaluation and sent that off. It's just hard because he has such a wonderful side, so I keep thinking that I must have been exaggerating his other behavior, and it really wasn't that bad. But then he gets violent, often without warning, and I'm reminded that things really are bad. I'm just praying that we can find the right help for him because there's a side of him that really is so sweet.

Besides being busy, the other reason that I don't generally blog during the day is that I pay for it afterwards. This time, GracieGirl and E have gotten into the crafts box. Judging by the creative mess they've made so far, I really should be focused on them, rather than on this blog! Off to survey the rest of the damage... ;)

**********************************

Doctors and More Doctors!

We've been in full swing with doctor's appointments again. We'd switched allergists, thinking that it would be easier to have all of the children's doctors at Children's Hospital, but we decided to go back to our old allergist. Nate and E went this week and GracieGirl and J are going tomorrow. The allergist said that Nate's asthma is under control but his allergies are bothering him. E's report wasn't as good, and the poor little guy came home with a stack of prescriptions!

Jay saw the dermatologist again, too, and she thinks that some of his problems with nighttime scratching may be behavioral. I'm not sure why she would think that, since the majority of his body is covered with eczema, and I'd kind of think that that's why he's scratching! She wants us to make an appointment with a behavioral specialist through Jay's developmental pediatrician at the autism center. We'll try anything that might help; I just to get to it on my To Do list yet!

Jay had a sleep study a few nights ago. He had some trouble dealing with all of the wires, but he loved the room...the bed with a sleep number mattress, the big, comfy quilt, the large flat screen TV, and lots of snacks. Once he was settled in, he lay back and said, "Yep, I could definitely get used to this!" He paused for a second and added, "It's not because of the TV or even the snacks; it's because there's a bed in here for you, too!" He's so sweet...

He brought his sleeping bag with him because he practically lives in it at home, so that helped comfort him a bit.

Jay in his favorite sleeping bag. I don't know how he does it,
but he walks in it and goes up and down stairs in it!

So, I was selfishly thinking that I might get a decent night's sleep, being away from the nighttime drama here at home. I went to bed at around 11:00pm, got comfy, closed my eyes...and Jay's monitor started going off! The tech came in and turned it off, and once again, I settled in. Three minutes later, it went off again! This time, both techs came in, turned on the lights, started replacing parts on the machine, and finally left. I don't know what the problem was, but this went on most of the night! I was feeling far from refreshed when they woke us up at 6:00am! I'd begged asked for late checkout, just as I'd done during my sleep study, and once again, I was turned down! ;)

I was feeling sad this weekend because, for the first time ever, we missed Sesame Place with the Variety Club. E is really struggling with his asthma, so he couldn't go. He's had a few rough days (and nights!) between the asthma, allergies, hives all over his arm one night, and the little, itchy bumps that are covering his entire back! The allergist ordered blood work for him to check on some of his allergies. Nick thought that these symptoms were perhaps linked to the Cyclic Neutropenia, which makes his white count low every three weeks. If this is the low period, maybe his little body just can't handle everything. I don't know, but I sure would like to help him feel better!

Now we're just continuing to pray that E stays out of the hospital. The treatments aren't helping much, and tonight his breathing was really labored. I still don't feel confident about knowing exactly when he needs to go to the hospital, but Nick is confident that he knows. Prayers greatly appreciated for our little guy!

E decided that the only way to feed the birds is to dump the seed
all over the place, roll in it, pull up leaves and sticks,
and then sit and call the birds to come eat!


*************************************

A Visit to See the Allergist

Nick and I took Jay and E in to Children's Hospital today to see a new allergist. We were gone for seven hours, and spent 3 1/2 hours in the office! Thankfully, the boys were well behaved, even as it approached the magic meltdown hour of 5:00pm.

Jay was tested for 13 different things. I really wish they'd given me a list of what those 13 things were. He came up quite allergic to shellfish, cats, and trees.

I think that E was tested for more than 20 things. His positives were peanuts, tree nuts (especially cashews), eggs, sesame, shellfish, fish, cats, dogs, horses, trees, and grasses. We already knew about some of those things, but he'd tested negative to horses in the past. We'd been avoiding sesame and all fish just because they're highly allergenic, and now I'm glad that we did!

We'd originally been told that kids generally aren't tested for environmental allergies until they're at least three years old, but they told us today that they've started seeing environmental allergies in younger children, so they went ahead and tested E after we told the doctor about the time he was sitting out in the grass and came in with hives all over the back of his legs!

Both boys were very brave, even though I was cringing as I saw the welts on little E's arms. A couple of them (peanuts and cashews) were so large that they merged with the welts next to them!

We walked away with 13 prescriptions, and now have two children carrying EpiPens!

The doctor wants to see E again in September since his asthma has gotten bad enough in past Septembers that he had to be hospitalized.

She wants Jay to go to a clinic at the hospital that they hold once a month where both allergist and dermatologists are present, and work together to come up with solutions for kids with allergies and eczema. I'm excited about that and am praying that they can help my itchy little guy!

*************************************

Living with Food Allergies

As Food Allergy Awareness Week wraps up, I thought I'd share, as others have done, a bit about how food allergies affect our life. Most days, we just go with the flow, but there are times when I stop and think about how much easier our lives would be if there was a cure for food allergies.

I was allergic to hundreds of things when I was growing up, but anaphylaxis wasn't part of the picture, so I had no idea what living with life-threatening food allergies was like.

In our house, Jay is allergic to wheat and gluten (rye, barley, and most oats) and dairy. The nutritionist also has him off of soy, refined sugars, and most carbs. GracieGirl is allergic to wheat and gluten. E is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts (anaphylactic), eggs, and dairy. Nate was tested as a toddler and no foods showed up, but I suspect a dairy allergy or intolerance.

Jay has severe eczema, E has eczema and asthma, and Nate has asthma.

We make almost all of our food from scratch. There are some prepared foods we can buy but they're expensive and often don't taste as good as homemade.

Baking is an adventure. We have a cabinet and freezer full of different flours. We can't use just one flour when we bake; we have to combine several flours, such as rice, sorghum, tapioca, and potato starch. We use xanthan gum to keep baked goods from becoming a crumbly mess, and powdered egg replacer as a binder. We use olive or coconut oil instead of butter and rice milk instead of cows' milk.

We never have peanuts or tree nuts in the house. We do have eggs, and it's a bit stressful keeping E away from them. E doesn't have anaphylaxis to eggs, but he did have an immediate reaction after eating them, so we don't know what a second reaction might be like. It's sometimes challenging, especially when we're rushing, to remember who eats what. GracieGirl can't have the Ezekiel Bread; she has to have the brown rice rolls. E can't have the rolls because they have egg whites in them. Jay doesn't like meats or most vegetables and that's all he's supposed to be eating right now. Nate can't stand rice milk or gluten-free bread.

On the rare occasions that we find a meal, or even a single food, that everyone likes and can eat, it's cause for celebration!

We always plan ahead. When we leave the house, we pack food and drinks for everyone. We don't have the option of stopping to pick something up if we run late and get hungry.

We read labels, read labels, and just when we think we've read enough, we read more labels! Product ingredients change, so, just because we bought something that was safe one time doesn't mean it will be safe the next time we go to buy it. We also avoid products that were processed in facilities or on equipment that processes peanuts or tree nuts. Studies have shown that a full 10% of foods manufactured on shared equipment will actually have nuts in them.

We avoid some homeschool events, especially those centered around a meal or where a lot of snacks will be served. We opt for more of the outdoor events and field trips.

Family get-togethers are difficult. Jay has a tough time watching his cousin eat pizza and chicken nuggets and desserts that he loves but can't have. When possible, we bring our own substitutions so that he doesn't feel as left out, but it's not always possible and it usually doesn't look as good to him as the stuff his cousin is eating!

Baseball games and flying are two other things that we avoid because of nut allergies. We always carry wipes, and when we go shopping, we wipe down the cart before putting E in it, in case the child before him was eating nuts. E is at that age when he puts everything in his mouth and I worry that he'll pick up a piece of discarded candy at the park that has nuts in it. He also believes that all cups and water bottles must be his, and I worry that he'll grab one that may belong to someone who was eating nuts before drinking from it.

I'm also concerned about people not taking the children's allergies seriously, and/or thinking that we're overreacting or being overprotective. With Jay and GracieGirl, they'll get sick if they eat foods they're allergic to, but with E, he could die from eating nuts or peanuts. He doesn't have to eat a Reece's Cup; he could react from getting a kiss from someone who had eaten peanuts or from eating food that had been served with a spoon that had just a trace of nuts on it.

E can never be without his EpiPen. Thankfully, we have never had to use it. It scares me to think of using it on him, but I'm confident that I would do what I had to do if he was having an anaphylactic reaction. We have EpiPens in a bag by the door, along with a bottle of Benadryl. There are EpiPens and Benadryl in the kitchen and upstairs in our bathroom. We always have them on hand, in their designated spots, and we always make sure they're in date.

E is rarely away from us, and I wonder about sending him to friends' houses when he gets older. It's hard enough for us to keep on top of reading labels all the time; can we expect others to do it vigilantly? What if his friend gives him something, without the friend's mother knowing?

Jay, who is almost nine, knows what he can and cannot eat, and he's good at telling people that he can't eat something. GracieGirl is good, too; she knows that she can't eat bread or pasta or cookies or pizza at people's houses, but I sure can't expect her to know about all of the hidden sources of wheat. All of the kids are very protective of E and will quickly tell family or friends not to feed him certain things or eat nuts near him.

I don't worry about E all the time, but I do have concerns when he suddenly develops hives and I have no idea what caused them. When his eczema or his asthma flares, I wonder if a food allergy is involved. Recently, his eyes have been swelling and he screams and rubs them frantically. He's also been sneezing a lot, after which he also screams and holds his ears. I'm also concerned about other allergies to foods he hasn't been tested for. We haven't given him fish or sesame seeds, for instance, because they're highly allergenic foods, and we don't know if he'll react.

Maybe this is sounding whiny, but I'm not complaining about it. We do what we have to do. Yes, it's a pain, and yes, if I had a choice, I'd certainly prefer that the kids not have food allergies.

On my Fantasy Food Allergy Wish List, if I couldn't get a cure for food allergies, my next requests would be a freezer full of allergy-safe, delicious convenience foods that all of the kids loved, and a healthy, allergy-free fast food restaurant in every town.

I can dream, can't I?? :)

**********************