'Welcome, to the Epi-Pen Club!'

I never thought it would be us. I literally never thought allergies were something our family would have to worry about. I'm not sure why I was so optimistic or why I always thought we were immune.

But here we are, and I have an allergy prone child with multiple severe to moderate allergies. It's pretty devastating, overwhelming, and super scary.

It all started a couple of months ago. Back in November I made a dinner we have every few months: Chicken Cashew. Its delicious, and one of the few "grown-up" meals Owen will eat. Nathan wasn't very into it, which was weird, because he is my best eater. He took a few bites that I forced him to eat and then he was done. After dinner both boys took to running around the house. Not totally unusual. When I was doing dishes, Nathan began to throw up. A lot. Its that time of year and I had heard of a few people from church that had the stomach flu... so I thought maybe he caught it from them. OR he was just running around like crazy, so he probably just overdid it and threw up dinner. About an hour later he threw up again. I was in panic all night. I thought at any given moment we were all going to catch this stomach flu and Nathan was going to be throwing up all night. Luckily, nothing else happened. No one got sick. Nathan felt fine the next day with a perfect appetite.

Last Sunday, my mom prepared our usual Sunday dinner. She made Chicken Cashew. I told her I was a little wary of it, since Nathan did throw it up last time. Maybe there was something in it that made him sick? But Shad and my mom assured me it was just because he was running around last time. The boys were hungry. So while my mom was cooking my dad gave the boys a couple of cashews as a snack. (Maybe 4 or 5). 20 minutes later we sat down at the dinner table to eat. Nathan refused to take any bites. Weird. Then he started throwing up. A lot. Again. And again. Not good. That's when we knew. Nathan is allergic to Cashews.

After seeking advice from other mothers. We took Nathan into the doctor to get a blood test to confirm the suspicion that he's allergic to cashews and possibly other tree nuts. We already knew he wasn't allergic to peanuts. He eats peanut butter almost daily.

His doctor ordered a full allergy test. To test every common allergy and all nuts with him. I thought that was weird, because like I said we knew he wasn't allergic to peanuts, milk, wheat, etc. He eats them daily.

We waited a week for the results. It felt long, but I knew he was allergic cashews. The phone call came. Nathan has an extreme allergy to cashews and almonds. Then the phone nurse preceded to tell me he also tested high and positive for a whole slew of other allergies. Umm... okay. "Like What?" I asked. "Oh let me see: Milk, Wheat, Kiwi, Peanuts, Eggs... you need to come in and talk to the allergy specialist today."

This is where things got really confusing and worrisome for me. How? He was sitting eating yogurt and wheat waffle at that exact moment, a breakfast he eats all the time. What!? Have I unknowingly been poising my child for over a year?

I immediately called my sister-in-law for peace of mind. Her poor children have had every allergy in the book. Wheat, eggs, soy, diary, peanuts, tree nuts... etc. I'm not sure how she feeds them. After talking with her she helped ease my mind and I was able to stay focused and calm until his appointment that afternoon. Throughout the day I wrote down questions, seeked advice from other moms, and tried to think of every possible thing I wanted to ask at our appointment.

We went to the doctors office and sat down with the allergy specialist and hashed out all the details of Nathan's results. I asked my questions, concerns, and tried really hard not to cry. This allergy stuff is serious, serious business. This is basically what it comes down to for Nathan: He has a severe Cashew allergy. One that will send him into anaphelaxis if he consumes any. He also has a high allergy to almonds. He has a moderate allergy to eggs, where he cannot have straight eggs. Like scrambled eggs. But he is allowed to have eggs in baked goods such as cookies, brownies, pancakes, waffles, etc. The most surprising allergy was peanuts. He showed a pretty high allergy to peanuts. I told her that he eats peanut butter on a very regular basis. I was informed that he could PROBABLY be fine with peanuts, but at the same time the allergy could manifest itself at any moment. She said if it where her children she would stop any peanuts. He also tested positive for milk, kiwi, and wheat. However, since he eats those things daily, and since it was low enough numbers we luckily don't have to cut them out of his diet. (Phew!) He also tested high for iGe levels, meaning he is just an allergy prone kid. Any new food we will have to test on his skin first, and be very wary and cautious of.

We are retesting in a month. Mainly because I want to make DOUBLE sure of everything, and because we tested so close to his allergic response his number could have been elevated all together. Also because he was on the border of a lot of things, like peanuts. He will also be retested in a year. Shad and I have also discussed having him skin tested by an allergist so that we can be super confident in what we are feeding him.

Its all so overwhelming. Its all so unsure, unnerving, and confusing. And all so scary. One thing we know for sure: Nathan is very allergic to cashews and almonds. We are cutting out nuts, peanuts, and straight eggs from his diet and go from there.

Also at the appointment I was given a prescription and training on how to use an Epi-pen. This is where it got super scary for me as a mom. Anywhere Nathan goes, the Epi-pen goes. All people who know, watch, or around Nathan needs to be very aware of his allergy and the whereabouts of his Epi-pen.

My sister-in-law texted me after his appointment and asked how it went. Later that night she sent a text saying "Welcome to the Epi-pen Club!" I guess we passed initiation and are official card/pen carrying members. We have allergies.