Megan's story

Part 1 Megan was born a healthy and happy baby. When she started eating solids I noticed that something was different but could not put my finger on it. Every once in a while she would eat and an hour or so later she would throw up, get really sleepy and act strange. The doctor's kept on saying that she just had reflux but my mother's intuition knew better. After our experience with her older sister I knew that what we were dealing with wasn't reflux. Around 10 months old we fed Megan eggs and within about a half hour she violently started throwing up. She was lethargic and felt horrible. Her second experience with eggs was a repeat of the first. She ate some of a breakfast sandwich that I had and about an hour later she violently started throwing, got lethargic, and fell asleep. I took her to the doctor and asked for a blood RAST test for eggs. I told the pediatrician that I suspected an egg allergy. Not only did the pediatrician run a RAST test for eggs but she also tested for the other seven top food allergies. When the results came back we found out that Megan was anaphylactic to both eggs and peanut/nut. We were in shock. I called our allergist and asked what we should do. He said to make an appointment to bring her in to discuss the situation. When we went in to the allergist he further explained the severity of Megan's food allergies. We would have to make sure that Megan never got egg or peanut/nut in anything she ate. She was prescribed Epi-Pen Jr's and we were given a brief education in the use of the Epi-Pen and when to use it. I spent may weeks in shock and crying. Our lives forever changed. With each exposure her reactions increased in severity. Reactions now cause hives, face and eye swelling, breathing issues, vomiting, a sense of doom, ect. She has gone from ingested only reactions to contact touch reactions and airborne reactions. Part 2 Our daughter Megan was diagnosed with anaphylactic food allergies right around her first birthday. Originally I knew that egg was a possible problem but when her blood tests came back I received the dreaded call telling me that not only was Megan very allergic to egg but she was also very allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. As a parent I was devastated with this news. Though I was devastated I was also very grateful to know what we were dealing with. Megan's first experience with peanut was around 1 1/2 years of age. Megan's reactions are not only from ingestion of peanut but also from contact with peanut. Symptoms included violent vomiting(if it was ingestion), getting very tired, eye swelling, hives, breathing issues. While still in the learning curve stage I gave Megan plain M&M's once and only after sustaining a reaction realized cross contamination was a huge issue that always had to be thought about. I cringe when I think back to those experiences as I know how bad things really could have turned out for her. Upon diagnosis, Megan was prescribed Epi-Pens from her allergist and we were sent on our way in a daze with so many unanswered questions. I knew nothing about food allergies and was soon on a mission to figure out how to protect and keep Megan safe. I began searching the internet, reading books and navigating my way through living a life with food allergies. As a mother I feared for Megan and was scared every time I fed her wondering if she was going to be okay. I wiped down every surface, read every label and constantly watched Megan for signs of reactions. The first year I struggled with dealing with the diagnosis. Eventually I learned that I could not let food allergies define who Megan was, but rather it was just a part of who Megan now was. She was still the same child just a bit more special now. Over the years Megan has had her share of reactions that have required epinephrine and ER visits. We have had our ups and downs. When Megan was around two years old her allergist, Dr. Richard Wasserman, was beginning food desensitization with some of his patients. I was very curious but Megan was not old enough to qualify. She would have to wait. We patiently waited and when Megan's 5th birthday rolled around she finally qualified for the desensitization process. At this point we had to decide which food we wanted to do first. Because Megan is anaphylactic to both peanuts and tree nuts we decided to start with egg. So began our journey. Now that egg desensitization is done and behind us we are on to peanut!!!!