What I would Do If There Wasn’t a Peanut Allergy
This morning, Andrew’s school hosted a Muffins with Mom breakfast and we were quite sad that it wasn’t safe for him to attend. They couldn’t guarantee there would be peanut free muffins and I understand that, but it’s these moments in life that Andrew misses and mean so much to him.
We were standing out at the bus stop this morning, noticing that all of the corners were empty. I was thinking that we missed the bus, but as the bus driver pulled up she mentioned to me that today was Muffin’s for Mom at school. It was heart breaking and really sad for me as a mom to watch him get on the almost empty school bus.
Yesterday, we had our visit to the allergist to check on Andrew and see where things are going with his peanut allergy and asthma. We found out that Andrew has almost completely outgrown his Asthma! This is HUGE news.
The doctor took a look in his nose and said, it looks like Andrew is trading off his Asthma for some seasonal allergies. In with out, and in with another. This is okay though, seasonal allergies are much more treatable!
So now it comes down to the RAST test, a blood test to check the severity of his peanut allergy, and see if he is moving away from his peanut and tree nut allergy. In 2008, Andrew was diagnosed with his peanut allergy, on the RAST score it was a 45, with 100 being the most severe. Every Spring we make a follow up visit to redo the blood test and check on his levels, last year we actually started to see a change. Andrew’s RAST score went from a 45 down to a 24, a level which is still allergic and would still cause problems, but not so high that we would have to race to the hospital upon first taste. We are very hopeful with this next test.
Today, I will be taking Andrew in for his blood work, so we sat down at breakfast this morning to talk about it.
I asked him “What would you do first if your peanut allergy was all gone?”
He gave me a long list. A list of things that most of us take for granted, simple things in life that we all enjoy and are so hard for him to avoid.
- Go to a baseball game and sit in the stands, eating nachos and singing songs in the crowd
- Eat at any restaurant! Like Applebees and Pizza Hut
- Be able to eat dessert with his sister when we go to restaurants
- Sit at the regular school lunch tables with my friends, not at the peanut safe table that sits in the back corner of the lunchroom
- Sit anywhere on the school bus, he sits in the front seat so the bus driver can keep an eye on any reactions
- He wants to enjoy some of Daddy’s favorite peanut butter snacks like Reese’s and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
- To ride in an airplane and not have to worry about peanuts left in his seat by other people
- Go trick or treating and not have to give up 3/4 of his goodies
- To eat at a buffet, BBQ or party that is being hosted by someone else
- To eat birthday cake at his friend’s birthday party
Then he had to go off to school.. These are things a 6 year old thinks about every day, he tells me almost every day how much he hates having a peanut allergy. I hope for him, that today’s test brings the results needed to move forward. I’m crossing everything that I have for you baby boy!
Thank you so much for your comment Brittany, it always helps to hear from other moms who have “been there”.
Food allergies are so hard sometimes! That’s great news his allergy seems to be improving. My six year old has a peanut allergy among other things, and his score is >100! No very likely he will outgrow it. But we’ve learned to adjust. He definitely has days when he “hates having food allergies”. Even though I try to compensate, I realize it’s not the same. His school also did a muffins with moms. Being aware of his food allergies, his teachers served fruit kabobs instead of muffins for the entire class! I was truly appreciative if that! Good luck on your journey! We understand what it’s like here!
This was so touching!
AWwwwww my sweet little boy! This makes me sad, I hope the test comes back with positive results. Give him a hug and a kiss from his Auntie. That photo of him on the grass is really cute!
Hopefully he will out grow it.This is sad and it must be hard for both of you!! Kids do adapt easier than we think though! Keep us informed with the results!
Just wanted to send some support and positive vibes in anticipation of your little guy’s test results! I’m fairly new to the world of peanut (and tree nut) allergies, but it’s amazing how much we’ve had to change our lifestyle and my daughter isn’t even 3 yet. The thought of preschool and beyond brings on a sense of panic, and even though there are lots of limitations like you’ve described, it gives me hope that kids like your son are still able to move through life everyday with their allergies.
On another note, I was just thinking about baseball games the other day… my family and myself are all huge baseball fans and we used to regularly attend games. I just found out that our local MLB team has some “peanut-allergy friendly” games scheduled – do you know if they host games like this in your area? Might be worth looking into for a special treat!
Thank you Camille! You don’t really realize how much you miss out on because it becomes every day life, but when you sit down to think about the challenges it’s amazing. Specially when it comes from your 6 year old.
Its amazing to me how much we end up changing because of allergies. For me my kids are mostly okay but I’m allergic to everything so we would have missed the event because of me- that’s a hard pill to swallow. I miss out on all kinds of things- its so frustrating but you adjust and make do. Best of luck with everything!