For those of you keeping tabs, the past few weeks have been full of not so exciting adventures, and I am here to say that they are not over yet. Last week, after attempting an elimination diet of freezies, and realising their effects, I started to do more research into just what these preservatives and dyes were, and what other products contained them. Along the way I remembered I had picked up some pamphlets at the allergist's office last year when we first found out about how serious Ryder's allergies were(can you believe it's only been a year),so I dug them out and started to leaf through them. I had never looked to closely at the list of soy products and different names for them because in comparison to Ryder's other allergies and their severity's, his Soy Intolerance really wasn't at the top of the priority list.
I went through the list of different names for soy and then started to type them into google to learn what exactly each of the names meant.Did you know that when a package lists Vegetable protein among it's ingredients it is actually a concentration of soy?
The more I typed, the more links I found, and that is when I accidental stumbled upon the title of Soy Lecithin. The name was familiar, but it was not listed anywhere on the Soy pamphlet handed out by the Government of Canada that all of us, as parents of children with severe allergies, rely on as a very strong resource.Reading the first paragraph my heart sank. Soy lecithin is crushed soy beans mixed with egg. Right there I realised the mistake I had been making for far to long-Ryder has a severe egg allergy, and he reacts to someone simply breathing on him after eating eggs.
Tears filled my eyes as I quickly ran to the cupboards and pulled everything off of the shelves. And with the knot tightening in my stomach I began reading the labels of the chosen processed foods I had found that I deemed "safe" for Ryder to eat. I even called up my mom who has a stock of all of Ryder's favorite snacks and cereals at her house, and had her read me the labels of the boxes I had thrown away. Luckily Cheerios (his favorite breakfast cereal) did not contain any soy, nor did the other cereals I have in the hopes that Ryder will some day branch out and try other kinds of food for breakfast. The Mr.Christie animal crackers, however, did contain soy lecithin, as did his new favorite movie night treat, licorice.
I don't know if it was relief or sadness that I felt more of that night. Yes, to most people it is just one unknown ingredient on a list of many unknown ingredients, but to me, it was one more danger, one more risk to Ryder's health, one more unknown ingredient that I would, undoubtedly spend hours researching, and in the end come to the same conclusion that I always do: the only way to be safe, and to ensure Ryder's life is not at risk, is to cut ALL processed food from his diet.
After going through the rest of the pamphlets for the top 9 allergens from the Government of Canada, I did find that Lecithin was listed under other names for eggs. I guess, as a parent of a child with life threatening food allergies, I should have connected the two. These are the moments in my life when I feel completely overwhelmed by Ryder's condition, and how his life is at risk every single day, simply by the foods that I choose to bring into my house. To alot of people, they hear the description of food allergies and think, well it just means he can't eat this or that. But it is the knowledge that if these same people do not attempt to learn or accept what true food allergies are, but are asked to interact with Ryder, his life will be in jeopardy.
What I also fear is the day that I will face ridicule and judgement. From those who think that I am just trying to get special attention for my son, and those who feel that I am making life unfair for their children by having so many diet restrictions in school or at a birthday party. The day will come, as it does for every parent of children with severe food allergies, and all I can do is pray for the strength to stand up for what is right, and for the patience to educate the people around Ryder and I. It is the only way I can give Ryder the "normal" life he is entitled to. I hope that slowly we can teach the rest of the world that we cannot thrive on ignorance, but that the more knowledge we have to pass on to our children about food allergies, as with any other disease or condition, the better we can learn to facilitate children with special needs without seperating them from the "norm" or labelling them as "outcasts".
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