Wednesday, November 26, 2014

First Thanksgiving with Food Allergies

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and while it is often one of my favorite holidays, it's also become a scary one for me. It's Matt's first major holiday he's celebrating since his dairy allergy and nut allergy suspicion diagnoses. It wasn't until recently that I learned just how many meals are made delicious because of dairy and nut ingredients, and the Thanksgiving meal is certainly no exception. There's butter in the turkey, the gravy, the bread, the potatoes, the desserts, the list goes on and on.

The regular list of no nos is pretty extensive too, beyond the obvious milk, butter and whey, but to top it off, we have to be conscious of foods that would otherwise be safe for him to eat if only they weren't processed in the same factory as other dairy and nut products. I learned the hard way that those traces of milk, cheese, peanuts etc can still cause a reaction in Matthew.

During last week's snowpocolypse event where we were housebound for four days I learned that Gerber graduate foods that do not have any of the items listed on the foods to stay away from must also be processed in a factory that makes foods with dairy and nut ingredients, because he broke out in hives. Luckily, it wasn't a severe reaction, but it was scary nonetheless, especially because we couldn't get out of the driveway and onto the roads if we needed to get him to a hospital.

So tomorrow, even though I will only feed Matthew the foods I 100 percent know are safe for him to eat, I will still be watching him like a hawk to ensure he doesn't accidentally ingest anything that could cause him serious harm.

To all my friends and family, happy Thanksgiving! And please, stay with your family and friends on Thanksgiving Day. Don't go shopping for Black Friday sales on Grey Thursday or whatever the heck they are calling it. Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for what you have; it's not for promoting the bad business practices of shopping centers who are out to make a buck at the expense of their employees' happiness and ability to spend this national holiday with their family and friends.