09 May 2008

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes


My inheritance:

  • I seem to be paralleling my mom lately. She has many allergies to foods, which have progressively gotten worse over the years, chiefly ones containing (but not limited to) preservatives such as the "-ites" and "-ates". Her face turns bright red, itchy, and she gets stuffy. She takes Benedryl before some meals, particularly if she eats in a restaurant because, with someone else preparing the food, one really has no way of knowing what chemicals are being ingested through the sauces and flavorings from the industrial kitchens. That one pill (or sometimes two) helps, although she still has the symptoms. She also carries an EpiPen with her. Oh, yes, I'm trained on how to use them (although I would prefer not to...have you ever seen the size of the needle!?), as I have had children in the classroom who have also had severe allergies (let's not discuss if I could actually run all the way to the school office and back in time to get the EpiPen and use it). I also know we have a maximum of only twenty minutes to get her to a hospital if I use it because that's how long the epinephrine will last. Scary all around.
My point:
  • I have had four episodes (eek) of her same symptoms in the past few weeks--just a beet-red face, no itching or stuffiness (yet). So far I can't pinpoint exactly what the item or items may be that are causing it. I can feel it within a bite or two of the offending meal, first on my ears (they feel like they are on fire from a bad sunburn). My husband (I so love him) looks at me with a worried look and jokingly asks me about my gene pool.
My whine:
  • I love my occasional glass of wine, my salmon, my--well, whatever it is that's causing the over-reaction of my body. I'm sure I will absolutely crave whatever it is when I discover it. Argh. Oh, my, what if the chemical compound is also in chocolate? I may not survive the trauma.
I'm just saying.

5 comments:

brooklynx said...

Poor mamasita. You might want to high yourself to an allergist.

You passed me the genetic inheritance of a huge likelihood of the BRCA gene, creaky and weirdly displaced hips, and now I'll probably get super allergies too? Jeez.

Also, love the top picture. Very cute.

Diane Grenkow said...

Perish the thought that it might be wine, salmon, or chocolate!!! That would be too cruel.

LOVE your new banner up there...

Debbie T said...

Well, you could always hand your chocolate over to me, and that way nobody gets hurt! pffftttt

Sunflowerfairy said...

Ugh. I know allergies. So does my husband and my kid.

My favorite? People who insist that my son won't be allegeric to "their dog." My son is allergic to dog saliva. All dog saliva. It's not the dander or the fur or the food they eat. It's saliva.

Be well.

rita said...

I have an epipen, so does my husband. It's very conveniently located in the bathroom closet. 45 minutes from where we work.

But we really only need them when we get our allergy shots. Those things have really helped me!