The Diagnosis

Over the last few months, we have gradually become aware that Carter has a milk allergy. Recently, he began throwing up or developing rashes if I gave him certain foods that didn't even seem to have dairy ingredients.

Then, this past Sunday, Carter had an allergic reaction in the nursery at church. Someone came to get me out of our Sunday school class. At first, I was scared to death. The man said, "We need you to come see your son. There's a doctor looking at him right now." Of course, in that short second, I had many thoughts race through my head.

Broken bone. Seizure. Head cracked open.

The man then explained that he'd had an allergic reaction. I thought, "Is he breathing?"

I literally ran to the building where the nursery is and was so grateful to see one of the volunteers holding a happy baby. While Carter had developed a rash and a VERY swollen lip (think a duck bill!), he seemed unfazed. Apparently, they had given him a cracker, just as they do every week. This time, Carter reacted.

Yesterday, we spent three hours at a pediatric allergist. After some testing, the doctor diagnosed Carter with a very strong allergy to milk, eggs, and beef, and a milder allergy to peanuts and wheat. He also has excema and will need several different creams applied 3 times a day. To say, the least, I was overwhelmed. While he is expected to outgrow these allergies between ages 5-8, this diagnosis will drastically affect our meals. Carter won't be able to just eat off our plates at restaurants. I'll have to check the label of every food he tries. He'll have special snacks at birthday parties as other kids eat pizza and cake. I will have to make an egg-free cake for his birthday. And Whole Foods will now be my primary grocery store as I will have to buy egg-free noodles, milk-free bread, and all sorts of "special" foods. Even foods such as canned soup, sausage, and baked goods have milk proteins (such as whey or casein) that can cause reactions. For example, Carter had a reaction to Gerber's turkey sticks because they had whey in them. Who knew? The doctor emphasized that I will have to become a label-reader.

Now, I realize that these allergies are not life-threatening or even very serious. They're just inconvenient. And I can't help but feel overwhelmed with all that I have to learn in the next few weeks. So, I welcome any advice or suggestions from those of you have dealt with this as well. The nurse gave me some brochures with information, resources, special cookbooks, etc. But even the selection is overwhelming. And I really don't want to spend three hours at the grocery store reading over labels. So, if you know of some good products that are milk and egg free, I'd love to hear about them.

I am thankful for a healthy son and know that these allergies do not pose a long-term problem. But please pray for my sanity as I attempt to figure this all out. :)