Peanuts = Death Nuts

Ok -

In my life, I fondly call peanuts (prior to the birth of my first daughter, it was my most favorite food) - death nuts. My daughter is horribly horribly allergic to peanuts. It took us awhile to figure it out. Her first reaction was when she was 8 months old and she broke out in hives all over her body. I really think that she had crawled in some oils or something.

Her second reaction occured when she was about 15 months old and a child had eaten a peanut butter sandwich in her day care classroom, the teachers cleaned the table and then she ate her lunch. She started having trouble breathing (wheezing) and the school called me. I went to go get her and they were standing outside of the school waiting and asking me if we should call an ambulance. I was thinking she was just wheezy and I said no. When I got her in the car I realized she was starting to turn blue and I pulled into the doctor's office which is right across the street. The hospital was another 4 miles away. I carried my blue, non-breathing child into the doctor's office and started yelling. It was lunch time, but our doctor was there and she grabbed Prissy, ripped her clothes off, and seeing her welts, the doctor very smartly decided to give her epinephrine.

The doctor suggested we get an allergy test - and the second they did the peanut skin prick, Prissy's arm started swelling up. We gave her benedryl and decided that yes, she has a pretty bad peanut allergy and I took her away with my prescription for an epipen. As I was driving - Prissy started having a hard time breathing again, and I turned around and took her right back where she got another shot of epinephrine. Ok, we decided this girl is REALLY allergic to peanuts. The doctor questioned if the skin test could have caused her to have an anaphalactic reaction. It turns out that yes, yes it can.

I used to scoff at the mothers who were hyper-vigilant. Worrying about cross contamination. Worrying about products that happened to be made in the same factory as those with peanuts. These people are CRA-ZA-ZEE. This was my opinion, until the big bad reaction.

Prissy was 3 years old, and a child was simply eating a peanut butter cup in her classroom and she had a reacation (I really think she must have gotten some of the oils on her body or something) - she started coughing and wheezing and swelling up. The preschool called me and said that Prissy was having a peanut reaction and then the phone line had an emergency break through from the paramedics and the line went dead. Totally and completely dead. I was in my cubicle screaming into the phone - I didn't know if Prissy was alive. Thankfully the preschool was less than a block from work. I started running for my car... I was wearing high heels and it felt like a dream - I just couldn't run fast enough. I heard the sirens. They were coming for my baby. I didn't know if she was dead. And I couldn't run because fucking shoes were too high.

I got to my car, I started driving to the school and because of the fire trucks and ambulance excitement - traffic had backed up. I panicked and got out of my car (still running leaving the driver's side door open) and started running for the school. A fireman, or EMT or someone saw this crazy ass woman running down a busy street with heels on - he figured it must be the "mother". He came up to me and told me that Prissy was with the EMTs and to go and get in my car and move it some place safe. I think he was what I needed. I went back to my car and drove it to the preschool and went in. Prissy was screaming hellfire - they had given her an epipen and she was PISSED OFF!!! All these big scary men, poking her, hurting her after not being able to breathe - she was completely freaked out. And what a fucking relief. I didn't care if she was pissed - I was SO HAPPY SHE WAS BREATHING. We had to go to the ER and they gave her some powerful drugs.

Another mom was there during the whole episode, and she said it was terrifying. She didn't realize how bad a reaction to peanuts could be. She told me a month or two ago she still has nightmares about it (it was easily 6 years ago). Yeah, her and me both.

After that, the reactions have been smaller -but, I have realized that yes, even the remotest trace of peanut protein can give her a reaction (she did have a reaction to a cracker made in a factory that processes nuts.)

Since we have been hyper-vigilant she hasn't had any reactions. She's not freaked out by her allergy (most of the time.) She does remember a few of her reactions and they are not pleasant, so she does what she can to avoid a reaction.

Recently, Subway is being sued by a family whose daughter died as a result of cross-contamination with a peanut butter cookie. We eat at Subway once or twice a week. I don't think we'll stop eating there, but I always watch carefully while they are making the sandwiches and I always have her epipen with me.

For the most part, the children in her school have been so cool about her allergy (they have also known her since preschool and I went in every year until she was in 4th grade and read the kids a story about peanut allergies and what they could do to help.) Children are really very sweet when it comes to their friends - parents however can be a little crueler. I have had parents that wouldn't let their kids hand's be sanitized after lunch before the kids were going to make food (just a little sanitizer destroys the peanut protein). Another parent sat down at our table once and when I said it was a peanut free table (they had a PB&J) they told us they weren't moving - but we could. These are the parents.

Anyway, this post is getting long. But, my point is that peanut allergies are real. I don't know how to get this into someone's head until they see a child turning blue and swelling up. Peanuts can cause allergic children to DIE... Realize that in many cases - it isn't parents being melodramatic - we've had close calls and it's the absolutely most terrifying thing a parent can see.

Please understand this - peanut allergic children are just children - they don't deserve to be hated on - nor do their parents who are trying to keep their kids alive. Just a little bit of consideration can save a child's life.

Anyway, for any peanut allergic parents out there - feel free to drop me a line. I've managed to keep my PA child alive for 9 years now. :)