No Nuts, Please!

Clever Cupcakes

2011-01-31T16:02:00.000-08:00

I know, it's been a long time since I posted. I'm very sorry about that. But I came across something the other day that I HAD to share with the world...

Ever since Ella was diagnosed with her peanut allergy, I have been searching for a peanut-free bakery. Up until Sunday, my search had been in vain...but then I found Clever Cupcakes, and I was in heaven.

Located in Coquitlam (right across from Coquitlam Town Centre), Clever Cupcakes offers a huge selection of delicious cupcakes, made fresh every day. They contain NO additives, NO preservatives, NO artificial flavours and NO artificial colours. They are made with 50% less sugar than regular cupcakes. They contain good-for-you ingredients like natural cocoa, fresh fruit, and natural butter. And best of all, they are completely peanut and tree nut free!

Basically, they are the healthiest cupcakes you can buy. But, trust me, you would never guess that from eating one! They are SO GOOD. And there are so many yummy flavours to choose from, like mango vanilla cake with cream cheese icing, chocolate cake with strawberry icing, mint chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting, coconut cake with cream cheese icing...I could go on and on. We only tasted four of the flavours during our visit, and they were all delicious.

The store itself is really cute. They have the bakery in the back, and up front there are tables to sit at, and they also sell a selection of coffees and soft drinks. We sat and had cappuccinos with our cupcakes, while the kids made a huge mess with their cupcakes. Afterwards we spoke with the owner, Juan, for a while. He has a young son with an allergy to peanuts and tree nuts, and also a father who is diabetic. He really wanted to create a product that they can enjoy (he's still working on lowering the sugar content for his dad, though). They get a lot of orders from businesses and schools, as well as orders for birthday parties and other celebrations. And, of course, you can always walk in and see what flavours they have to offer if you're just craving a cupcake...or six.

We will definitely be returning to Clever Cupcakes, for birthday party orders, and just our everyday cupcake needs. (I know what you're thinking - no one should have everyday cupcake NEEDS. But I'm pregnant. Give me a break, here.)

Most of all I was just so happy that I could go in and get Ella a "store-bought" treat and not worry about it. It might not seem like a big deal to most people, but when you have a kid with a peanut allergy, those are the everyday little things that you wish you could give to your child. I think Ella said it best while we were sitting enjoying the cupcakes: "This is way yummier than staying home!"

A Reaction!

2010-04-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

Well, it happened. I guess I always knew it would, sooner or later, but I had really hoped it would be later. Here's the whole story...

For me it started with a phone call as I was driving to my anaphylaxis support group meeting (I know, ironic, right?). I don't usually pick up my phone while I'm driving, but I was at a red light, so I figured I'd just make it quick. All Joel (my husband) said was, "Where are you? You have to turn around. Ella had a reaction, I gave her the EpiPen, she's doing better now, and the ambulance is on the way." So I hung up and started driving home. I'm not really sure how I made it the whole way without freaking out, actually. But I did. I met them at the emergency room, and of course by that time, Ella was ok. But I had to see it with my own eyes.

For Ella, it started at dinner time. She started wheezing and coughing, then turning red all over her face, neck, chest and back. Her mouth and cheeks were swollen. And the wheezing was worse than any asthma attack she had ever had. So Joel grabbed the EpiPen, grabbed Ella, and jabbed it into her thigh. She screamed, as this was the first time she'd ever had the EpiPen and I don't think she realized until that moment that there was a needle inside. But within seconds, she was able to breathe better and she calmed down. Joel immediately called 9-1-1 and the paramedics were there within 3 minutes (awesome!). They told Joel to give her some Benylin, and then some Ventalin (from her puffer) in the ambulance, as she was still wheezing. By the time she got to emerg, she was doing much better.

So we all spent the evening in the emergency room, where they kept her for observation for a few hours. Keeping the kids entertained was quite the task, especially as bedtime approached and then sailed on by...we didn't get the kids home to bed until after 9pm. But the nurses and doctors and paramedics were amazing. The kids got teddy bears from the paramedic, and the nurse gave Ella a little TinkerBell game.

As terrible as the experience was, there were a few good things that came of it. We now know that we can handle it - Joel was amazing (I'm pretty sure I would have freaked out, but he was so calm and did everything right). We now know that she can survive it. We now know the benefit of having an emergency plan on the fridge - Joel used it, and the paramedics said that it was great that we were so educated and prepared (yay us!). And most of all, we now know that it is SO important to be prepared for an emergency AT ALL TIMES, even when we're certain the food is "safe."

We're still not 100% clear what caused the reaction. Ella was eating leftovers from the night before, which were made at home with safe ingredients. We think that some peanut residue must have been on a Slurpee cup that Joel was drinking from while he fed the kids dinner. It could be as simple as someone eating a Reese Peanut Butter Cup while they restock the Slurpee cups, then Joel touching the cup and then Ella's food. That's why cross-contamination is such an important issue. And that's why I look like a crazy woman anytime we eat at a restaurant - wiping down Ella, the table, the chair, the cup, etc, etc, etc.

Anyway, bottom line: Ella's ok.

A Store with a Cause...and Peanut-Free Ice Cream!

2010-03-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

Last night I visited PricePro for the first time, and it was AWESOME.

It's kind of a mix between a grocery store, a Costco and a furniture store. They sell lots of great stuff, like furniture, warehouse-pack sized foods, bakery items, fruit & veggies, clothes, shoes, DVDs, regular groceries, frozen foods, etc, etc. Everything you need!

But the best part is that they are part of a non-profit program called Welcome Home, which is a long-term residential treatment program for men who struggle with substance abuse. The purpose of the PricePro store is "to provide Welcome Home participants with the opportunity to acquire proper life skills, social skills, and job skills. They learn how to become valuable employees or how to successfully manage their own business." Very cool!

OK, here's the second best part: they have the most amazing selection of Chapman's peanut/nut-free ice cream that I have ever seen. The ice cream comes in 2L and 4L sizes, and in at least 9 or 10 different flavours. On top of that, they also have peanut/nut-free ice cream novelties, like ice cream sandwiches, ice cream bars, popsicles, cones, etc. And they even have peanut/nut-free sugar-free treats (although I'm not sure why you would want sugar-free ice cream, but to each his own). I got the butterscotch ripple.

I will definitely go back to PricePro. I think you should, too! It's in Surrey at 6911 King George Hwy, open 9am to 9pm Monday to Saturday.

Training is Key

2010-03-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

I recently received an EpiPen trainer, and once I had it, I wondered why I didn't get one sooner. (As in, right when Ella was first diagnosed. In fact, I often wonder why they don't give you one right after the allergy test is done.) For those of you who don't know what a "trainer" is, it's an EpiPen that contains no needle or drug, but works just the same as a "real" EpiPen. So it allows you to practice using an EpiPen, so that if an emergency arrises, you'll be ready.

Aside from being able to practice myself, I have found the trainer SO useful for teaching other people how to use it. When I first showed it to people, most of them didn't know how to use it - including those I had previously showed the real EpiPen to, and who I leave Ella with on a regular basis. Scary! But having the trainer available has allowed me to give them a much more hands-on training, so that now I am assured that they will be able to use the real thing if they ever need to. I actually carry it around in my purse, and I'm surprised at how often people are interested in checking it out.

So, perhaps you're wondering where to get one. If you have a kid with an allergy, or if you are a caretaker of a kid with an allergy, or if you are an organization which cares for kids (like a church or a preschool), you NEED and EpiPen trainer. The best place to get one is the EpiPen website - all you have to do is sign up for the "EpiPen Resource Centre" and you can order training materials totally FREE! In fact, you can order one Patient Starter Kit every year if you want. The kit includes a training DVD, a quick reference guide, and an EpiPen trainer. If you are an organization, you can get a bigger kit which also includes posters.

Just as an extra note, the EpiPen website also offers some other great stuff. You can set up a reminder service for up to six EpiPens, so you will get an email when they are about to expire. There's also a recipe centre, for allergen-free meals and treats.

Easter Candy!

2010-03-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

I must admit that I was not looking forward to Easter this year. Not because I don't want to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, but because I didn't think I'd be able to find any safe candy. As it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised.

On a recent trip to Wal-Mart, I thought I would wander through the Easter section, just to see what was there. I didn't expect to find anything that Ella could eat. But to my delight, they had almost a whole aisle filled with "no peanut" chocolate! Chocolate bunnies, chocolate kittens, chocolate wiener dogs, chocolate chickens, chocolate princesses, chocolate monster trucks...you name it, they had it! I was in heaven! The only problem was choosing what to buy.

I ended up picking a chocolate bunny, a box of small caramel filled bunnies, some rabbit shaped ju jubes, some jelly beans and a chocolate Iron Man (nothing says "Happy Easter" like biting into the head of a chocolate robot-man).

So, thank you Wal-Mart. Now if only you could do the same at Valentine's Day and Christmas.

All About Restaurants

2010-02-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

When Ella was first diagnosed PA, we didn't go out to eat anywhere for a while. I just couldn't handle the thought of someone else preparing her food, and not being able to read the ingredient lists myself.

But we're getting a little more adventurous, and I've started doing a lot more research. So in case you are in the same boat as us, wondering what's safe and what's not, I'd like to share the fruits of my labour with you.

Remember, this list is just what I've learned so far, as I keep learning every day. But at least it's a starting point if you're new at this whole allergy thing!

Safe Places

McDonalds (except for the McDonaldland cookies)
Wendys (except desserts & salad almonds)
Panago
KFC (except desserts)
Taco Bell

Unsafe Places

Dairy Queen (peanuts & nuts everywhere!)
Tim Hortons (bakery environment: high possibility of cross-contamination)
A&W (most burger sauces have "may contain" warning, and they could easily end up on the surfaces where they prepare other foods)
Burger King (turns out that many of the foods cooked in the deep fryer "may contain" nuts or peanuts, which makes everything cooked there unsafe)
Any bakeries (way too much risk of cross-contamination)
Any ice cream places (hardly any ice cream is safe)

"Sit Down" Restaurants

Red Robin (no allergen info, but we've talked to them and they're good)
Boston Pizza (no allergen info, but we've talked to them and they're good)

Tips for Eating Out

I always wipe Ella's hands & face, then the table & chair, with a baby wipe as soon as we sit down
Of course, we always always have her emergency kit
If I haven't been able to read a full ingredient list online beforehand, I have an in-depth conversation with the waitress, who usually checks with the kitchen staff as well
We always stay away from desserts, even if they appear peanut-free, because they are prepared near other desserts which probably have nuts/peanuts in them
My biggest tip: do your research!

I hope this has helped! Unfortunately, most of the research I've done has been for fast-food places, but that has more to do with the fact that we're dining out with two toddlers, rather than the peanut allergy.

I just wish more restaurants would publish their allergen information online. It's so much easier than talking to the staff, and I feel much more comfortable if I can read it myself. I have started emailing restaurants to request this info, but it will take a lot more people doing the same thing if we want them to change.

If you know of any other "safe" places, leave a comment!

Another Trip to the ER

2010-02-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

So, we got to go to the ER again the other day. This time in an ambulance. Ella thought it was all very exciting. Here's what happened...

We were at a friend's place in New Westminster when Ella started coughing and wheezing. I knew it wasn't an allergy attack because she didn't show any skin symptoms (hives, redness, swelling), which almost always come at the beginning of an allergy attack. Nope, it was her asthma again. But this time we weren't at home, so we didn't have her puffer.

I watched her for a couple of minutes, because I know that she can usually get over the wheezing on her own within half an hour, even without her puffer. But the wheezing kept getting worse. And worse. So I decided to call 911, just to be on the safe side. I didn't want it to get to the point where she couldn't breathe at all.

The fire truck arrived, and then the ambulance, and she was still wheezing (although not as bad), so they decided that she should go to the hospital. Ella was very excited about this, because it meant a ride in the ambulance. The whole way there she kept asking what everything was, and where we were going, and on and on and on. (So by this time, I knew she was fine.)

But we got there and the doctor checked her over and then we left. No big deal. But I did learn a valuable lesson...never leave home without her puffer!

My emergency kit keeps getting bigger and bigger (actually, it doesn't all fit in my little pencil case anymore, so I need to get a new bag). Just in case you're wondering, it now contains:

EpiPen
Emergency Plan
Benedryl & spoon
Puffer & chamber & mask

Safe Snacks at Starbucks!

2010-02-07T20:52:00.001-08:00

I love Starbucks. I love their coffee beans (I have three different types machines at home just for making coffee), I love their espresso drinks (caramel latte is my favourite), I love the atmosphere in their stores, and up until recently I loved their baked goods.

Then came Ella's peanut allergy, and the days of going out on a mommy-daughter date to Starbucks and sharing a banana loaf or ginger molasses cookie went out the window.

Until now!

Starbucks has recently started selling Lucy's cookies. They are free of wheat, gluten, dairy milk, butter, eggs, casein, peanuts and tree nuts. Which, I admit, made me a little skeptical at first, but we tried them anyway. And they are AMAZING. So yummy! And it was less than $2 for a bag of 4 cookies, which is totally reasonable.

So, thank you , Starbucks! Because now I can once again go out for coffee with the kids in tow, and there's something for them to eat and keep them busy while I get 5 minutes of peace.

Celebrities With Peanut Allergies

2010-02-05T09:21:00.000-08:00

I was curious to see if there were any famous people with peanut allergies, so I decided to Google it. Turns out there are...

Joshua Jackson (OK, he's allergic to tree nuts, not peanuts, but close enough)
Serena Williams
Ray Romano
Alex Kapranos (from Franz Ferdinand)
Kelis
Robert Kennedy Jr's son, Conor
Tom Poti (NHL player)
Clay Aiken (tree nuts, not peanuts)

Dr. Oz Talks About Anaphylaxis

2010-02-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

I must admit, I've never actually watched The Dr. Oz Show. But my mom mentioned the other day that he had done a segment on anaphylaxis, so I thought I should check it out. Here's the video:

Overall, I thought it was pretty good. I love that he's creating awareness and teaching people what an anaphylactic reaction looks like, and what to do about it.

However, I also had a couple of issues with it.

First, he made it look like the only symptoms of a reaction are the skin symptoms (hives, redness, swelling), the mouth symptoms (tingling), and the lung symptoms (wheezing, coughing, hoarseness). He didn't even mention the gastrointestinal symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, pain) or the cardiovascular symptoms (weak pulse, paleness, lethargy, unconsciousness). And he said that the breathing problems were the most serious, but the rapid drop in blood pressure is also a major factor in whether it's going to kill you.

Also, I don't think he should have had her hold the EpiPen like a pen. I know you don't need to apply a whole lot of pressure to get the needle to deploy (you really don't need to stab the person), but holding it like a pen doesn't give you much control over the device. It's much better to hold it in your fist, like so:

Anyway, creating public awareness for anaphylaxis is awesome. Good job, Dr. Oz.

Baked Goods!

2010-02-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

Do you know how hard it is to find baked good that are peanut-free? Near impossible. In fact, most of the time I don't even bother walking through the bakery section, because it just depresses me. But I got a tip (from one of the great moms who was at my anaphylaxis group meeting) that Superstore had some. So, naturally, I drove out to Superstore the first chance I got.

And she was right! It was wonderful. I almost didn't know what to pick, but this is what I got:

And check it out...peanut-free!

I have to give props to Superstore. They have the largest selection of peanut-free stuff that I have seen so far. Even their "no name" candy (like jelly beans and jujubes) is peanut-free. And baked goods!

I love cookies...

Nut-Free Chocolate!

2010-01-29T10:52:00.000-08:00

As anyone with a peanut allergy would know, it is really hard to find candy and chocolate that is safe. Basically, I've found my options to be limited to snack-size Smarties, Aero, Coffee Crisp, and Kit Kat. And after a while, that gets really boring.

Needless to say, I was delighted to find a chocolate store that specializes in nut-free treats: Vermont Nut Free Chocolates. We ordered a box of assorted chocolates and some wrapped chocolates for Christmas. And they were DELICIOUS. Just as good as Purdy's, or any other similar chocolates, and priced about the same, too. And shipping wasn't too expensive, either.

I will definitely be ordering more. Not only do they make amazing boxed chocolates, but they also have candy, baking chocolates, fun shapes, and things for every different holiday.

My First Meeting

2010-01-29T10:44:00.001-08:00

So, I attended my first "Metro Vancouver Anaphylaxis Group" meeting this week (the group is coordinated through Anaphylaxis Canada, which I talked about in this post).

It was AWESOME.

I got to meet a bunch of other parents of kids with peanut (and other) allergies, and talk about anything and everything to do with the allergy. We discussed where to buy peanut-free foods, where to take the kids out to eat, vacationing, daycare, school, EpiPens, swimming...and so much more. It was so great to hear what other parents are doing to keep their kids safe. I got so many useful tips and ideas that I hadn't even thought about before!

I highly recommend joining this group. I can't wait for the next meeting!

Airline Travel Becomes Safer

2010-01-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Transport Canada, I will soon feel more comfortable about taking Ella on a plane!

According to this article in the Globe and Mail, the Canadian Transport Agency has ruled that individuals with a peanut/nut allergy should be considered "disabled" and therefore special accommodations must made to address their needs. Basically this means that a peanut/nut-free buffer zone has to be established on the airplane. The ruling only applies to Air Canada, but other airlines usually follow suit in similar situations.

Ideally, I would love peanut-free fights, but this "buffer zone" idea is at least a step in the right direction.

One Small Step...

2009-12-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

Ella went to sit on Santa's lap at the mall yesterday. (Side note: she LOVES Santa...loves sitting on his lap, loves telling him that she wants a dollhouse and slippers, and even loves playing Santa at home, which involves me sitting on her lap telling her what I want.)

Anyway, she sat with him and chatted for a minute, and then he reached into his sack beside the chair and pulled out a candy cane. Eeek! Not a big deal for other kids, but I have no idea what's in those candy canes or whether some peanutty snack was made in the same factory. Needless to say, I was a little concerned, but I decided that it might be inappropriate for me to sprint over to Santa and smack the candy cane out of his hand. So I decided we'd just throw it out later and scrub her hands.

Then something amazing happened. Santa put the candy back in the bag and gave her a colouring book instead. Hmmm...

Ella jumped off his lap and ran over to us to show us her new colouring book, so of course I asked her about the candy cane. "Did Santa ask you if you wanted a candy cane?" "Yes," she replied. "What did you say?" I asked. And to my great surprise and delight, Ella answered, "I said no."

This may not seem like a big deal, but for an almost-3-year-old to say no to candy is AMAZING. I can only hope that all those times that I tell her that she can't have candy (or anything) without asking me first have started to sink in.

And don't worry, I've ordered some peanut-free candy for Christmas!

Allergen Free Food!

2009-11-24T20:33:00.000-08:00

I came across a great CANADIAN website that I thought I would share. It's called Allergy Menu.

Basically it's an online grocery store where you can shop by allergen. So if you're allergic to one (or more) of the top 8 allergens, you just check that box, and it will find safe products for you! They sell everything from trail mixes to spreads to candy to cookies to snack bars to chocolate...basically all the allergen-free stuff that's hard to find at a "regular" grocery store.

What I'm most excited about is the candy. Since Ella's been diagnosed with PA, we've eaten SO many snack-size Aero, Kit Kat, Smarties and Coffee Crisp. I'm kind of getting sick of them. But there's not a whole lot of choice for peanut-free chocolate (especially terrible for me is the fact that my absolute favourite chocolate bar of all time is Reese Peanut Butter Cups). So finding a place where I can get more variety is AWESOME!

What's also cool is the Christmas stuff they have - advent calendars and candy canes! And I thought we'd have to go without!

A Great Video

2009-11-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

I just saw this video on another PA blog, and thought I would share it. It's a great tool to help you educate the people in your world about what it's really like to live with a life-threatening allergy on a daily basis. And the kids are cute!

Review: No Nuts For Me

2009-10-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

Ella was just over 2 years old when she was diagnosed with her peanut allergy, so trying to teach her about it is a very slow and repetitive process. She has learned to recite that peanuts make her sick, and that her EpiPen is her "special medicine," and that if she ever eats a peanut she needs to use her EpiPen and then call 9-1-1. But I wasn't sure if she really understood it.

So I went looking for a book at the library that she could understand, and I found No Nuts for Me by Aaron Zevy. It's a story about a day in the life of a boy with a nut allergy. The boy in the story is a bit older than Ella (he's elementary-aged), but she loved the book. The boy talks about what he can eat, how he uses his EpiPen, his MedicAlert bracelet, and lots of other stuff. By the time our 3-week library loan period was up, she had almost memorized the whole book!

I loved that the boy in the book focused on what he could do, rather than what he couldn't do. It shows kids that having a peanut allergy isn't the end of the world.

I would recommend the book for kids age 3 to 8 (although Ella understood it at 2).

Support!

2009-10-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

I was looking around on the Anaphylaxis Canada website, and I found out that they organize support groups all over the country, for people with anaphylaxis and their parents. I decided to sign up, since I know only one other person with a life-threatening allergy, and I thought it would be good to connect with a few more. Because, let's face it, if you don't deal with the reality of this type of allergy on a day-to-day basis, you have no idea what it's really like.

So I sent an email to the group administrator in my area and she responded within a couple of hours! Pretty amazing for a volunteer-run group! I gave her my info, she added me to the group contact list, and before the day was done, I had 3 more emails from her with info about group meetings, other members and general info. And not only that, but I also had two more emails from other group members offering their support. Wow!

I will go to my first meeting in a couple of weeks, so I'll let you know how it goes. So far, though, I am super impressed with the information, support and care that these people showed me. I would highly recommend this support group! Especially if, like me, your child is newly diagnosed.

A Frantic Visit to the Doctor

2009-09-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

I think that being mom to a peanut-allergic kid is going to be a lifetime filled with "is this a reaction?" moments. Or maybe I'll get used to it in a few years. I hope so.

Tonight after dinner, Ella started coughing like crazy. Then she started wheezing. Then I started freaking out. All we'd eaten for dinner was spaghetti (at home, and I never keep anything in the house that even has a "may contain" warning). So it couldn't be a peanut reaction.

Or could it?

There was no swelling, or hives, or vomiting, or anything else similar to her last reaction. But then again, peanut reactions are unpredictable and not necessarily the same every time. And she was definitely having trouble breathing. So what to do? EpiPen? 9-1-1?

We decided to go to the clinic. We would have gone to the ER, but the clinic is literally right around the corner, so we knew a doctor would be able to see her much sooner there. So I stayed at home (to take care of her little brother, who was still finishing his green beans), and daddy took Ella to the doctor. And I continued to freak out.

An agonizing 30 minutes later, they came home. Turns out it wasn't a peanut reaction. The doctor told us that true allergic reactions rarely involve only breathing symptoms - there are almost always skin symptoms, too, like hives or swelling.

What happened to Ella was, however, something. She was definitely have trouble breathing, so the doctor put her on a ventilator to help her breathe, with a steroid to open up her airways, and she was fine after that.

So, what was the problem? Well, it could have been a freak one-time thing, but there's also a chance that she has developed asthma. We won't really know until it happens again. IF it happens again. We're believing it won't. Because the problem with a diagnosis of both anaphylaxis and asthma is that you are at a greater risk for a severe allergic reaction and even death. And I'm not sure I could handle any more anxiety than I already have...

A Special Bracelet

2009-09-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

One of the first things we did when we found out about Ella's PA was order a medical alert ID bracelet. I wanted to make sure that other people knew about the allergy, and also what to do if there was an emergency. With her being so young (only 2 when she was diagnosed), I knew she wouldn't be able to tell people about the allergy, and I also knew she wouldn't even be able to keep herself safe...I mean, this is the kid who still eats gross pieces of food off the floor.

And just in case you're wondering, we chose to engrave:

PEANUT ALLERGY

USE EPIPEN

THEN CALL 911

We thought that would be enough info for people to understand the basics. We thought about adding her name and our contact info, but we decided against that because we didn't want to engrave too much. We wanted it to be quick and easy to read and understand.

After looking at SO MANY medical jewelry sites, I found one that was based in Canada and had very reasonable prices. Beading Hearts sells all types of medical ID jewelry: beaded bracelets, sports bracelets, leather bracelets, pendants, and much more...even ID for your pet!

We ended up choosing their engravable ID with the sport strap, because the strap adjusts small enough to fit Ella's tiny wrist, and there are no tiny beads for her to choke on (although when she's older, I'm sure she'll want one of the prettier bracelets). I really love that we were able to order a couple of different straps for the bracelet, because Ella gets to choose which bracelet she wants every day. And those of you with toddlers will know how important the illusion of control is to them!

Ella loves her special bracelet. And she really loves when other kids notice it and want to look at it. :)

An Emergency Plan

2009-09-24T21:07:00.001-07:00

After reading The Complete Peanut Allergy Handbook by Scott H. Sicherer and Terry Malloy, it was clear to me that I needed to prepare myself for an emergency. Don't get me wrong, I had an EpiPen, and I knew how to use it, but that was the extent of my plan. The book made me realize that a written plan would mean that everyone would know what to do in an emergency, and that everyone would know how to spot an emergency.

So I looked on the internet to find an emergency plan that I could fill out and print off, to give out to the people that Ella regularly spends time with. I found a couple of good emergency plans, from Anaphylaxis Canada, and the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. But they didn't quite have all the elements that I was looking for, so I decided to make my own.

(This image can be seen larger here.)

I wanted to share it here (minus the personal info, which is blacked out) to give other people an idea about how to make up a plan, and what to include. Our plan had to be very easy to read and understand because the main place that it's used is in the nursery at our church. In a place that's filled with 2-year-olds who may have had peanut butter before coming to class, it's fairly important to make sure the teachers in the class know how to handle an emergency.

A Peanut Allergy?!?!

2009-09-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

I couldn't believe it when I found out Ella was allergic to peanuts. There was no family history, I had done everything I could think of to avoid this allergy, and yet, there she was, in the middle of the kitchen, throwing up and turning blotchy after taking her first bite of peanut butter. It was terrifying. It was something that I had feared, but not something that I actually thought would happen to my child.

Of course, we rushed her to a doctor nearby who told us, "She's allergic to peanuts. So don't let her eat them." Thanks, that was helpful. I made an appointment with our family doctor, who referred us to an allergist (an appointment we had to wait an excruciating 8 weeks for). The allergist did the scratch test, which confirmed that Ella was indeed extremely allergic to peanut. He taught me how to use an EpiPen, he gave me a brochure on anaphylaxis, and he sent me home.

But I needed more. I spent hours on the internet learning everything I could about anaphylaxis and peanut allergy. I read blogs. I read government publications. I read research studies. I thought the more information I had, the better able I would be to keep Ella safe. So then I went to the library. I read books. I watched DVDs.

But what I really needed wasn't more and more information. I needed to know that I wasn't alone in this. That there were other moms out there who were just as paranoid as I was. I found reading blogs to be really helpful, because along with the information, they spoke about how it feels to live with a peanut-allergic child.

So that's why I'm writing this. Because I'm sure you're out there, hoping to find someone who is going through the same thing you are. Well, here I am.