Results tagged "Food allergy"

I’m sitting here at my desk being all uppity because my son has food allergies.

RIGHT?

Because I know everything. AND, I’m not being sarcastic… AT ALL. Not here – Not there… Not anywhere… Okay, a little too much Cat in the Hat, but you know what I mean. By the way, I am being totally sarcastic…Because some people just don’t get it.

It all started a few weeks ago when I came to the realization that if I want Will’s Kitchen to actually achieve anything in the world of food allergy awareness, that I was going to have to get off my tuckus and actually tell someone about the website. I know. Because apparently, if you don’t tell people about it, they simply WON’T KNOW. And yes. Apparently I just used the word tuckus.

So I did what any marketing trained mind would do. I turned to Mr. Sal and told him I needed an operating budget of no less than 20K to hit the ground running…. Bombarding him after a hard day’s work, with charts and graphs and media calendars combined with returns and percentages of success. He was suspect when I excused myself from the dinner table to change into business-wear and sexy heels — because that’s when you know you mean business…It may have worked better if had gone the extra mile and showered… but then again, I don’t think he enjoyed snarfing that first martini sip when he heard the bottom line, so no water wasted. Perhaps I should have waited until sip number six.What?

At any rate, my attempts to achieve my first major investor failed. Shocking, I know. So off I went a-packin out into the wild, wild wonders of the interweb with my anti-food allergy flag held high in an attempt to achieve a grass-roots, gorilla campaign. A few stops later, I found myself with a mini ad campaign on Mini Munchers, as well as a guest recipe post. Wandering around I also found gobs of other useful contacts — like-minded people that are just asking for food allergies to be acknowledged and taken seriously, which then led to engaging correspondence about awareness and the right way to reach the food weary audience. One such response came from the lovely ladies at The Mouthy Housewives — whom I join today in answering a very important question regarding peanut/nut-free policies at schools — a topic that I deal with on an almost daily basis with Will and his new preschool. It was a great opportunity to be able to voice my suggestions to the Mom that wrote in as well as the general public AND, interesting to see the debate so far…

One Mom suggests putting all allergy kids on their own island in their own classroom! BEAUTIFUL. Allergy kids and Lepers having so much in common****….

So, once you’ve gathered yourself after rolling on the floor laughing at the ‘OMG someone SAID THAT insanity’ over the above statement, click on over to read some of the more intelligent thoughts that are being thrown out — share and enjoy — in all seriousness, because YOU KNOW that I’m taking every word TO HEART while I muddle around in a pool of sarcasm.

****This is a joke. Despite it’s lack of grace….

As I walked into the office, I immediately felt hives creeping up my neck. Were we crazy? Obviously this doctor didn’t have the first clue about the modern world… The piles of outdated magazines caked with dust and strewn around the ramshackle 1950′s decor. The faint scent of mildew entered our noses as we took the clip board from the 200 year old receptionist that looked at us over her bifocals with annoyance and doubt that we were indeed old enough to care for the three year old and infant in tow. You know, 35-40 being the new 15-20, we were obviously checking in to meet the doctor due in part to our own stupidity… but didn’t she know the levels of our desperation? We called them, obviously…. and they relied on filing cabinets and clip boards, not computers and other fangdangled tricks of technology. But did we need to be met with the sketchiness of HR Puff-n-Stuff meets Land of the Lost all because we wanted a third opinion?

And as she held out her skeletal pointer finger in an attempt to direct Will to the toys of antiquity, I tried to think of an analogy to express our ever growing frustrations over Will’s food allergies. Unfortunately, my attempts were immediately sidelined when the definition of eccentric walked out of his office to invite us in.

Large portraits of family pets and a coffee table encasing a Floridian sea shell collection found us speechless and grasping to understand our surroundings as he turned to us to initiate the conversation.

Why were we there?
Grasp.
Because….

The wood paneling of his office walls screamed with anticipation as I realized that the heels on my shoes had become entangled in the orange shag. Really?

Because… we want another opinion.
Grasp.

The room was hot as I gazed over his desk to a self-portrait of the doctor in a civil war reenactment uniform. Long-gone were my dreams of forward thinking, as OH – I think the hives had reached my face. I found my voice and explained our situation — reeling off the script that I had repeated to a list of other allergists and pediatricians. We want our son to have a flu shot and his egg allergy is preventing this. We don’t completely believe his test results from his other allergists. And, after almost 4 years of living with several food allergies  — we aren’t sure that he would ever have a severe reaction considering the number of times he has already been exposed. We want a cure. We don’t want to be scared anymore. We want world peace — perfection, and while he’s at it — we want him to tell us EVERYTHING WE WANT TO HEAR. Because this food allergy thing SUCKS. And here we ARE — uncomfortable, and… SWEATING in an office with a man that we would only avoid eye contact with in any other given situation. PLEASE. TELL US. MAKE IT ALL OKAY.

And then he did. That is to say, he agreed to a few of our demands while acting out weird and undoctorly movie quotes that made us laugh uncomfortably. He suggested that Will might not really be allergic in the terms of your typically defined allergy. That although his blood might scream severe, his reaction may be quite the opposite. In short, he told us almost the opposite of everything we’ve ever been told about Will’s allergies AND he suggested some proactive steps… like giving him the allergens directly, allowing the flu vaccination in a controlled environment and, instead of hovering over him in a “no, you can’t have that” kind of way… being more open and suggestive that he might try more things. And for about forty minutes we felt euphoric. As if the must in the air was really a choice herb emanating from a giant bong connected to the office humidifier. We were encouraged to breathe deeply while Mr. Sal and I held hands and danced rings around Dr. Eccentric. His sea shell collection came to life — floating around us as if they were still alive in the deep blue ocean. It wasn’t until we walked out of the office that we, as parents, actually glanced at each other as if we’d just met Jesus — but not so sure it was really him or just some weirdo asking us to buy real estate in heaven. Because, there really isn’t anything scarier than having someone tell you exactly what you want to hear.

Ten years ago — if someone said to me.. “the twitter widget on your blog is broken” or “you should add more plug-ins to your directory” I probably would have gasped in horror and slapped them across the face…

But that was 10 years ago.

Now, I have a very intricate knowledge of what needs to happen when it comes to widgets, plugins and all things BLOG, and I have to say that — although I wasted years of learning all about coding and html — the useless this will work and this won’t of web designs…  Blogging really is the new internet… And I have come full circle with what of ME is ON and OFF the great abyss of W W W. But I think a little blogging history and explanation is needed for the point I’m trying to make…

Because I am not without fault. For The Birds, as I have mentioned, was initially started as a chronicle of sorts about Breakwater Design Studio. I think it took about 10 minutes of me, online, typing before I started to stray away from the focus and more on the everyday. Then I needed more. So I moved For The Birds to a platform called Movable Type… which, as it turns out, you have to be a major programmer to work with… which I pride myself on NOT BEING. Whatever, I did it anyway… and now that I have readers (that I love) and a sweet little place online to call my home — I want more. But how do I get more with the limited knowledge of stuff that I don’t want to know about anyway? Well… I’m on track with trying to figure that out whilst kicking myself for not doing the research before signing over my first born blog to Movable Type… Oh we’ll get over ourselves eventually. Maybe.

So then.
When I found myself all wrapped up and unraveled with Will’s food allergies and having to cook and bake and rewrite recipes on an almost daily basis, I started Will’s Kitchen. Humbled and embarrassed and all kinds of proud, the site was started in January of this year and has already had well over 100,000 hits. And by hits I mean strong 10 minute stays on almost every page of the site — and we’ve only published 31 posts. I even get a few glances from Katonah, NY every once in a while which makes me think that we might be onto something.. hhm Martha?

But when it came time for me to decide what to do about… well — ME, it took a strong bout of food poisoning to make me realize that I need to have my work online as well. Breakwater Design is long gone, thank goodness, AND, I’ve done way more stuff in the history of me on top of it all… my portfolio of work is so extensive — designs, photographs, interviews, blog posts… I was kinda feeling like I was drowning so I called up my good friend Internet who was all like “…niggas always gotta high cap
Showin’ all his boys how he shot em
But real gangsta-ass niggas don’t flex nuts
’cause real gangsta-ass niggas know they got em
And everythings cool in the mind of a gangsta
’cause gangsta-ass niggas think deep
Up three-sixty-five a year 24/7 ’cause real gangsta ass niggas don’t sleep“… to which I responded “I KNOW – YOU’RE SO RIGHT!” and immediately came up with Ry Sal Creative. I know, I know, kinda campy – kinda full of your self… not to mention, my Dad thinks it sounds like Sally and Bob’s Nail Salon or Nick’s Pub where your feet stick to the floor. But whatever – IT IS WHAT IT IS. And it’s gong to be fabulous. And, it is and isn’t a blog… you decide and let me know… and in the meantime… try these blueberry muffins because Martha is in Malaysia and therefore isn’t reading Will’s Kitchen right now… because gangsta-ass niggas come in all shapes and colors Some got killed in the past
But this gangtsa here is a smart one
Started living for the lord and I’ll last
Now all I gotta say to you
Wannabe, gonnabe, pussy-eatin’ cocksuckin’ prankstas
When the shit jumps off what the fuck you gonna do
Damn it feels good to be a gangsta.

(sorry mom)
 

A few months ago I mentioned a little project that we had started – Will’s Kitchen. And I know – I can hear you… “Oh my GAWD, when is she going to STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS?!?!?!”. Even I am boring myself.

But here’s the thing. For the Birds is a blog about me (shocker!). And I’m going to write about pretty much anything I want — whether you like it or not. SO THERE. And yeah, I’m going to be pushy about it too… just like anyone that runs after the water delivery truck that pulls into the driveway, DOES NOT DROP OFF WATER, and leaves. Right? Because if I leave the empty bottles outside they will blow away…. but that doesn’t mean that we don’t need refills. And this is the kind of stuff that I sit here writing about… and it’s a DAMN GOOD THING. 

But back to Will’s Kitchen. After trials and fails of recipes and madness, we are happy to say that things are going well…. We’ve made all kinds of things… from breads to snacks to failed frittatas. Honestly, a great deal of attempts end up being rushed to the nearest garbage can, but we are also often surprised by our own concoctions. So it is with this that I have sent out a mass email inviting people to the site to participate. If, by accident, you were left off of the email list, please note that while I am not entirely sorry, I apologize. Here is how it went, please note the horrific absence of sarcasm:

Dear Family and Friends,

I am writing to you to tell you about a little project that we have been working on – http://willskitchen.com

As some of you know, Will was 4 months old when he was diagnosed with several food allergies, most severely eggs, cow’s milk, tree nuts and peanuts. Now that he is two years old, these allergies have remained at high levels and although there is a good chance that he will eventually grow out of them, we do not take any chances and have practically eliminated the allergens from our daily lives. In the process of doing this, we have had to make numerous adjustments, which – have surprisingly made us healthier!

One major change, aside from dietary, is that we spend a great deal of time now in the kitchen cooking and baking — which, as it turns out, is something that Will loves to do! In this process, we have started creating our own recipes while modifying old favorites. Do you have a recipe that fits in with our restrictions? Or, do you have a dish that you would like to see us modify? If so, please send it over to us and we will let you know how it goes… and of course we will give you proper credit as the original chef.

In the interim, food allergies – especially among children, are on the increase. Recent numbers show that as many as 6% are born with a food allergy with peanuts being among the highest at 37%… We are sure that you know someone that deals with this issue on a daily basis as we do and may only benefit from our fun, online experiment. Please feel free to forward this email in an effort to promote the cause and share the yumminess!

Thank you,
Ryan, Will, Bill & The Bluedog

http://willskitchen.com

So, in short, if you would like to join us  — we’ll be waiting over there, still damning the water guy — spatulas in hand. And don’t worry, I WILL WRITE ABOUT THIS AGAIN. I promise. 

I have decided to stop ingesting dairy and eggs.

And, I use the term “ingesting” loosely because I am not doing this for any moral reason…. I’m selfishly just doing this for myself. Completely hypocritical, maybe, yes–definitely… but also completely in sync with the trends that motivate me. I came to this decision after months and months of scientific research in quest of a cure for my son’s allergies to dairy and eggs. As it turns out, there isn’t a cure–and there probably never will be. There is also varied and limited, although growing, resources and theories surrounding food allergies… A LOT of finger pointing and not a lot of fixing. But what I did find… politics, politicians, chemicals, antibody killing hormones, GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS… organic lies, untested treatments, mistreatment of animals and LOTS lots lots lots of manure. And, as it turns out, I have been putting all of this into my body for years. If my midsection were a stage and the curtains opened it would be a serious Rocky Horror production, most likely… (there’s more after the giant egg)

Now, I am not trying to dictate or make generalizations on vegetarian lifestyles… MOBY, I am not and never will be… I am also completely aware that the VEGAN POLICE will consider my attempts to be pungent and wreaking of rotten garlic… But WHATEVS, I am just testing this out… I started on New Year’s day after spending the days before gorging myself with the very cheese that I have become addicted to. Honestly, I have never been a dieter — so having RULES is something new for me AND this will not be easy… but as I sit here on day 5 — I am feeling a little bit lighter… Less PUFF, shall we say. And while I’m treating myself like a lab rabbit… I am looking for new things to eat, recipes, websites and cookbooks to try…. I’ll try it all and then let you know the results… Recommend away before I waste away to nothing… Readers-O-Thisblog, PLEASE, DO TELL–I know you have the goods…

Can we just talk, for a minute, about how fast time goes by?
I mean, really.
Why must time, and the lack thereof, feel so chaotic… I mean we know that it is fleeting but does it have to feel so hectic at the same time?

This past weekend we had friends visiting — it was a blast, but the time went way too fast. And now, it’s Monday (yes, posting this on Tuesday–that’s how much time I had… just enough to write but not to actually publish) but then between design projects, this blog, finishing the downstairs bathroom, playing in the endlessly falling leaves with the boy, making sure to record it all as I go, cooking dinner–What would you do with a Spaghetti Squash?–Seeking out a cure for childhood food allergies, blaming it all on politics and the new Southampton Post Office… Ugh, going to the grocery store–Again. Laundry. And the clutter that I can’t seem to crawl out from under..Wow and only ten minutes before my conference call and then off to the doctor again to see if I can’t score a flu shot. Let’s just consider this week over. And then a wedding in the city on Saturday night–I have no idea what I am going to wear (any suggestions?)… Then two weeks of the same combined with our wedding anniversary, Thanksgiving and Will’s birthday.

Okay.. seven minutes until the conference call. How did we manage to pack a lifetime into the month of November? Did we sit down and say – this is the month that we are going to get it ALL DONE. Everything. Lifetime events paired with the necessary holiday traveling and My God – The PACKING! Couldn’t we have spread our lives out a little bit? I mean… we have 11 other months to work with, why do it all in one? And what am I doing here typing this — with everything else that needs to get done? Okay, 3 minutes left….The typing slows…as my mind goes blank and I suddenly find the silence to breathe.

We saw a really great doctor today.

Can you feel that? The vibrations similar to that of a giant TREMOR.. giant worms rising out of the ground.. Giant worms in search of HUMAN FLESH only to be quelled by the Bacon of Kevin? Reverberating the entire Island of Long — all being caused by my excitement? We saw an awesome doctor today, and we feel more in charge. More complete. We feel comforted. He was in the waiting room when we arrived.. What? Where? That’s right – IN THE WAITING ROOM. Not hidden in a back office doing whatever it is that doctors do back there. He was waiting for his receptionist to finish compiling our data and then he CALLED US IN RIGHT AWAY. Can you feel that? The tsunami-esche boom of continents breaking free and colliding?

We saw an awesome doctor today, and we are hoping for the best. We know that the results may end up the same as with the first “doctor”. The “doctor” that LIED to our faces about our son’s food allergies. The “doctor” that made up a scale of her own to rate the severity of his allergies. The “doctor” that I hope I never happen to pass on the street.

We saw a doctor today that looked like he was trying to solve our son’s Da Vinci Code of an allergy issue within seconds of meeting with us. We felt his brain working. We saw it in his eyes. He was thinking about Will. He was concerned and as first appearances go, he had us at hello (yes, I actually just said that).

We met with a doctor today that was interested in helping us. And despite the fact that we took all of our collective friend’s vigilante advice and were holding him at visual gunpoint, he was positive. He was honest — and he was forthcoming. After retesting, he assured, the results could be the same…doubtful that they will be worse, and probable that they will be better. He talked us through every challenge that we threw at him… and we had a truckload. He turned to us, looking us in the eyes, pen pointing to charts.. He printed out proof. He laughed, he smiled. He didn’t offer a death sentence. He approved of Will’s Red Sox hat, despite Saturday’s game.

Today we saw, who we hope will turn out to be, a really great doctor. Someone who will work with us and not against and someone that, if only for a brief few minutes, made us feel like we were doing the right thing for Will. And with that, we move on. 

Throwback posts:
Things Just Got Ugly
Small for Big and Ethan — The Bravest Kid in Town
The Meat Eating Vegan

We have just returned from a whirlwind trip down the Delaware coast for funtimes with family… Catching up has taken me longer that I had hoped, but I’ll get there. Whilst we were traveling.. two slightly amazing things happened.

1. The owner of Designing Moms contacted me to let me know that one of her readers had mentioned me in one of her own posts regarding my recent Designing Moms interview. Looking into it — the postie is also a mom, designer & avid blogger — http://smallforbig.blogspot.com/ . We have of course connected on Twitter and are now complete and total BFFs (kidding). 

   Here is the post — http://smallforbig.blogspot.com/2009/07/you-can-do-it.html

2. I received a comment from a woman named Amy that apparently reads this bloggedy blog (who knew!) and also has a son with food allergies. She had read The Meat Eating Vegan and was reaching out to share the story of her son Ethan’s struggle with anaphylactic reactions from exposure to peanut butter and his life threatening allergy to all nuts and soy. Will, my son, does not have such severe reactions and therefore I am overwhelmed by her and her family’s situation.

   Powerful and beyond touching–Ethan’s story is one of bravery and strength. Please take a few minutes to watch a video that his parents posted on his website – http://www.ethansangel.org. As always, please continue to support research for Food Allergy related causes.

When is something really great going to happen? Good things happen all the time… I am talking about something REALLY REALLY awesome. Like– World Peace, fair elections world-wide… a cure for childhood food allergies and melting icebergs. At the moment, I’d even settle for some sunshine. A small idea.. constant new television shows… no more repeats (unless you DVR them)… constant new entertainment. Or how about … Money. It would be really really great if I had some. I was actually driving the other day when it hit me that if something really great happened–would I know how to react? I know I sound depressed… which I’m not–I’m actually quite content…The world has me a little worried though. 

I’ve brought up this point many times before… Maybe we all need to start acting super positive. Like this guy. Or perhaps we have to create our own great thing. Like… that time machine that we’ve been working on. If we finish it then we can go back in time to fix everything that is currently broken–Thus ensuring current peace and harmony. Now if I could just get enough plutonium to generate the 1.21 gigawatts of power….