Food Allergies & The Birthday Boy

Buddy has an allergy to eggs and soy. We found out about it when he was around one and a half.

It is not fun. 

I know all the food allergy moms out there know the stress. Luckily for us, Buddy's reactions have always been fairly mild. I give him a dose of Benadryl, and he throws up. Usually that's the worst of it. I count myself very lucky... we have a few friends whose kids have peanut allergies. 

For Buddy's birthday this year, Grammie was planning to make a special egg-free cake. We were all excited to try it. Especially Bud. He has not had a proper birthday cake since his first birthday (before I knew about the allergy). That photo at the top? Yeah, he threw up exorcist-style about 3 minutes later. 

His birthday started out so well. He woke up in the morning, hoping he would open a gift and find a Cozmo robot. 

Bud's dream came true... and Rea got a nice surprise too!

As I said, Grammie was making a special cake. Buddy helped put the decorations on the cake. He was SO excited! 

​Then, the moment of truth:

He selected a piece with 2 of the candies. He was cautiously optimistic. 

SUCCESS!! YAY! He loved the cake! He was so happy. Mommy put the camera down to go enjoy the egg-free cake. 

Then, he popped one of those candies into his mouth. 

Immediately, his face changed. He knew right away there was a problem. He said his throat and tongue felt strange. I dropped my fork and ran to get the Benadryl. While I was doing that, Grammie fished the candy wrapper out of the garbage.... The second ingredient: Egg Whites. 

Buddy took the Benadryl. He pushed his plate away. 

We were all so sad.

I watched him like a hawk. I looked on my phone to see how long it takes Benadryl to work (15-60 minutes). Buddy was at the table, trying to play a game with family. He kept coughing - it was a strange cough. Like an asthma cough. One that's induced to bring more air in. His cheeks were flushing. He kept clawing at his neck. He said his tongue and throat still felt crazy. 

We stuck him in the backseat. And took off for the hospital.

He was squeaky. He was quiet. He was coughing. 

I was trying not to panic. 

About the moment we were turing in to the ER parking lot, Buddy threw up. 

The hospital was excellent. They had us back and in an ER room within 3 minutes of walking in. The doctor and nurse were great. 

We stayed in the ER for about 1-2 hours. They gave him a steroid. But they were pleased that so much time had passed between taking the Benadryl and vomiting. The doc said that gave the meds enough time to be absorbed and begin to work. And throwing up got the egg out of his body. 

What an exhausting adventure. I am so glad that it ended up ok. 

Anyone else have food allergy stories? I'd love to hear them. Comment below or email me privately.