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- Forgiving Yourself for Food Allergy Mistakes
- Power in Numbers
- Our Food Allergy Experience - So Far
- Growing Up With Food Allergies
- How Food Allergies Can Shape the Person You Become
- Piecing Together My Son's Milk Allergy
- Don't Let Food Allergies Get You Down
- A Diagnosis of Food Allergy and EE
- A Food Allergy That Reemerged
- First Reaction in 14 Years
- Learning to Speak Up - the Hard Way
By Courtney P.
We have all had something in our life that has forever changed us. Mine was the day that my children were diagnosed with life-threatening food allergies.
My daughter, Gracie, had a reaction to peanuts right before she turned three. We had her tested and found she is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. My son, Jacob, was diagnosed a few weeks later with multiple food allergies, including to milk, eggs, and wheat, to name a few.
My life seemed to stop when I heard this. How was I going to feed my children (such a simple task, right)? How was I going to keep them safe and let them be “normal” kids? I researched, joined support groups, educated family members and friends, searched for safe foods, raised funds for a cure and pretty much spent all my time trying to understand food allergies. Even though I was doing all those things, I was still having a hard time coping and kept wondering why this happened.
Every time my children ate something, fear would run through me no matter how careful or vigilant I had been. I had seen a reaction once and I never want to see one again. Any outing was nerve wracking. Every holiday or family get together was terrifying for me. Just think of all the food made by other people. All of that candy and those treats just sitting there. All of these items were off-limits to my children.
So I became a helicopter mom, hovering over my children’s every move. I struggled with this for almost a year, and one day it finally hit me. As I watched Gracie joyfully running through the sprinkler, laughing, smiling, and carefree, and Jacob happily playing in the sandbox with his daddy, his number one hero, I realized I had to change. I needed to live in the “here and now,” not the “what if.” “My kids are happy,” I said, and “I am missing out.”
I believe God gave me these two precious gifts knowing I was perfectly made to care for them. Life is so much better when you are present in the moment. Even though I still have to be extra careful and there are things that my kids cannot have, I know that I am truly doing the best I can for them. They are happy, cared for, and loved.
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