Adam Rosenthall

I'm Adam, Alex and Jonathan's big brother (see previous post). I have food allergies. When I was about 18 months old I ate some hummus, which was delicious, but it made me really sick. I got hives all over my face where the hummus touched my skin and I threw up A LOT. My mommy took me to the pediatric allergist and they pricked me all over my back and arms to see what I was allergic to. It was not fun! My first set of skin testing showed positive reactions to a lot of foods (sesame, chick peas, peas, lentils, chicken, eggs, dairy, cod). When my mommy drove us home from the doctor after our first visit, she cried in the car.

This summer I had another bad reaction to food, this time it was salmon. My mommy and I tasted some lox at the grocery store and soon after I ate it, I started to cough a lot and my face got red and a few minutes later I threw up. My mommy had to give me a shot in the leg (ouch) and take me to the hospital. I had to go back to the doctor for more testing and now we know I'm also allergic to salmon, perch, and almonds.

This is hard for my mommy and daddy on many levels. Of course their primary concern is my health - they don't want anything bad to ever happen to me, and it really scares my mom to think that something as seemingly innocent as a snack at a friend's house could really, really hurt me. My mommy loves to cook and is a 'foodie' so it also makes her sad that I'll never be able to enjoy so many of the foods she and my daddy love to eat most like most Asian, Middle Eastern, and Indian cuisine. Before my mommy had me, she always thought she'd introduce her kids to all kinds of foods from an early age because she wanted to have children who were open to exploring different tastes and flavors and experiencing different cultures through food. My baby brothers are now considered high risk for food allergies so mommy and daddy will have to be especially careful with them as well.

My parents are trying to teach me about my food allergies without scaring me too much. I know I can't eat sesame so if I see sesame seeds or something that looks like sesame seeds I always tell a grown up that I'm allergic. I know other kids can eat nuts and peanuts but that I have to wait until I'm five before I can try these things.

Food for most people is something they strongly associate with happy memories of their childhood, their families, places they've visited. It is something that is life sustaining and necessary. It is something that often provides comfort and frequently brings people together. My mommy and daddy are hoping that food will be all of these things for me as well. But ultimately food, for me, will always have the shadow of a monster waiting to rear his ugly head.

Raise your awareness of food allergies - check out the Food Allergy * Anaphylaxis Network at http://www.foodallergy.org/