Life Beyond The Allergy

My little one was fortunate and has grown out of her anaphylaxis to wheat. Wheat, egg and dairy are common food allergies that children grow out of by the age of 6. It’s not to say other allergies might not be “grown out of”, but these three are common among children and regularly children will grow out of them.

We had to go into hospital for a food challenge and she was offered small amounts of wheat, increasing the amount given every 20 minutes. We used pasta for easy feeding of a 16-month-old toddler with the attitude and sass of a teenager.

I honestly was so anxious in the lead up to the hospital admission. I had prepared myself for the worst, not because I am a pessimist, but because I don’t think I could have handled the disappointment if I had let myself believe she would not be allergic anymore. Realistically, I knew that if she didn’t pass it this time, there was still plenty of time for her to be able to grow out of it and I had resigned myself to the idea that she would still be allergic.

We have been going okay in the gluten free world, and while it had seemed daunting, overwhelming and terrifying at the start, you definitely get accustomed to a certain way of living. I had found great alternatives for most of our favourite meals and felt confident in my ability to advocate and risk assess when going out to eat.

My little darling was her classic happy-go-lucky self in hospital. Every nurse stopped to smile and chat with her. She spent most of the morning playing with toys and smiling back at nurses. We initially did the Skin Prick Test (SPT), which showed a wheel of 4mm for wheat and a 7mm wheel for egg. She is already tolerating egg baked into things and the doctor felt confident enough to go onto the food challenge part of the admission to test her tolerance for wheat.

The SPT had made her itchy and irritated and she was very hungry by the time the nurses came around with the first small quarter of a pasta spiral. She ate it and was demanding more. For the next couple of hours, we played with cars, books and coloured in pictures of zoo animals all while slowly increasing the amount of pasta she was eating.

Much to my surprise, nothing happened.

I had tears in my eyes after she ate the last serving of the food challenge. The nurses were lovely, checking in with us regularly and commenting on how well she was doing. I honestly couldn’t believe this is where we were at. Almost one whole year later, and she had outgrown her anaphylaxis to wheat. And not only that, there also seemed to be no real reaction to wheat. No flare up of her eczema, no hives, no upset stomach or itchy eyes/nose.

We were sent home with instructions to expose her to wheat ongoing to prevent her body from rejecting it again.

After almost a year of reading food labels, buying gluten-free flours, breads and pasta, I went out and purchased wheat flour, wheat bread and wheat pasta. It felt completely foreign to me to give her these foods. I spent most of that first week post challenge in a state of shock. I really couldn’t believe it.

In the weeks that have followed, I have felt such a deep sense of relief. I feel like I can actually relax when I go out to eat with the kids and have enjoyed the freedom the outgrowing of her allergy has brought to our family. I must say though, we have had some exceptional experiences eating out where I felt heard by the staff. It has also significantly lowered our shopping bill – which has been a nice bonus.

While I can reflect on the past year and recognise the challenges our family has faced, and me more personally with my mental health and stress I was experiencing as a result of being a mum of a child with severe food allergies, I also can recognise the opportunities it has brought me; the amazing community I have found within the allergy world, and a passion I had long forgotten about in books – both writing and reading.

To those mums still living with a child with anaphylaxis, just know that you are amazing. It takes such a huge amount of strength, resilience and courage to parent a child in a world that isn’t overly supportive of food allergies.

I am not sure what the next chapter holds for us, but I am certainly going to enjoy this moment for the small slice of heaven that it is.