What Crill? Where?

GQ Handsome at the Zoo

OK, so I took the animals to the Chaffee Zoo on Monday, parentals included. I know... I questioned my sanity.  We actually had a really fun time.  I even got a bit of sun on my face with sunscreen on...go figure.  It was a beautiful 70F... I know, ain'tcha all jealous???


Anyhow, we took the kids into Stingray Bay, where you can reach in and pet the stingrays and horseshoe crab rays as they pass by...oh and the occassional tiger shark as it whips around. Andante happend to be my only child brave enough to stick his hand in with me and touch a ray. It was actually kinda cute,.. he was SO into it until he touched it and then he was like "OH HECK NO"... he kept wiping off his hand on his jeans. They do feel kinda odd... like the underside of a washed mushroom. Yeah, ok...  lol

Once we got out of Stingray Bay and put him back in the stroller, he started reacting. So I washed him down, dosed him, and was on watch. It went down within in the hour and he slept off the effects of the Benadryl. When we got home last night and after his bath, we noticed he was breaking out again... same spots. I thought maybe it was the baby toothpaste he was using, but he has used that before, no reaction, so I was not so quick to blame it on that. Thanks to the one we call Doc from the TKWFA Group, I am thinking it was time for more Benadryl and at that moment, I didn't realize it.  You know how it is when you are trying to get a youngin out of the tub, let alone 3 of them!!! So we dosed him again, waited, and he went to sleep.  Next morning, the reaction was gone.  Yea!!!

But now... I have to worry about what it was that made him react... and honestly, it scares me to death.

I called the Zoo on Tuesday. In the meantime, while discussing the reaction/possible allergens, another TKWFA Mom told me her son had a reaction similar to Dante's at their Stingray Bay attraction in Chicago. When the zoo called back, they said all they put in the water are different kind of salts to make it more "ocean" like. So I asked if they could call me back with the different kind of salts

Duh! moment: I asked them to have a list of the different kinds of salt in the water if possible when they called back the st time.  I know, not everyone listens!

The Zoologist finally called back after lunch with some information.  Apparently, reactions have happened at the park before, yet, the only warning to a possible allergen is when you buy the food to feed the rays.  In the food pellet are Crill, which are an ocean shrimp, and a major food source for most ocean fish. 

What Crill?  Where?  And what the heck is it???  Shrimp???  Great... just lovely!!!

When you buy the food pellets, then are you hand a pamphlet, where on the back it warns of possible recations if one has a shellfish allergy.  No sinage, no nothin'! 

OK... this policy is GOING TO CHANGE!!!  Trust me!!!  But, on to the more pressing issue...

The synthetic mixture of sea salts they use is called Instant Ocean.  After finally talking to 5 people and emailing their lab, one of the technicians emailed me back with the ingredient list for my allergist to go over.  (That only took until yesterday to come in!) I emailed the info on the Instant Ocean over to the allergist so he can analize it, because even though my vocabulary has become remarkably expanded with 15+ letter words that I actually know the meaning of, there were some ingredients on the list that I just could not find via a search engine. 

Yes, Virginia, there are things that one cannot find on the internet.  Imagine that!

What worries me though is the possiblity that we have discovered a new allergen for my son.  Granted, our household already avoids shellfish thanks to Nando, but poor kid... what he needs is not ONE more allergen to his already extensive list???  We already have to test for things that he has had violent reactions to during the year like yellow dye, nitrates, and cinnamon... but now shellfish???  Sigh...

Does it ever get easier?

Seriously!

TinaMarie

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Don't Panic!

I live on a dirt road, so when someone flys by, skids to a stop, and parks in front of your house, you take notice.  Then when the pounding of their frantic fists hit your door, the adrenaline kicks in.  I raced to the back door and open it to have my girlfriend from down the road and her hubby, who's a paramedic, almost bumb rushing me to get in.  I don't even think I got the words What's up? out of my mouth before they clamored to find out what was wrong.

What's wrong?  Is everyone ok?  Is Andante reacting?

Nothing, why? No, he's fine...we're all fine.  We're having lunch.

Did you call 911?

Uh, no.  Did you?

You're sure nothing's wrong?  D's ok?  He's not reacting?

Seriously, nothing is wrong.  D's fine; in his room taking a nap.

Once I convinced my friends that there was not an emergency here, just a ticked off little boy who didn't want to take his nap whailing from his bed, we ran around to the front of the house to thwart off the ambulance.  Instead of it turning towards my house, it turned the opposite way at the crossroad.

Come to find out, the dispatcher had gotten the wrong house number.  A little old lady in need who's last 2 digits of her house number is the same ours...though ours is minus an extra number in front, and about 300 numbers less than hers, but who's counting?

Needless to say, all the panic was for nothing, but it is sure sweet to know that if we ever do have an emergency with Dante, help will be here in the blink of an eye.

Thanks Sarah & John!  Definite props!


Seriously!

TinaMarie

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Sheer Bliss

Allegra, Aria, & Andante testing out their new wheels.

Winter Break is finally over and the girls have completed their 1st week back to school.  All I can say is...

THANK HEAVENS!

We did have some fun moments outside through out their vacation.  The air of sunny California winter days are still crisp, but I have to admit... the sun always feels so good beating down on a cold face.  At the end of the ride, not a single environmental allergy (EA) issue crept up,... and it didn't hurt that we all look like Boticelli cherubs.  What more could I ask for than to gaze upon my angelic children and their little rosey red cheeks as they drifted off into slumber after a day of fun in the sun? 

Umm...maybe for them to clean their room to my satisfaction???  Yeah, ok... not holding out for any miracles here, just wishful thinking!

Enjoy our afternoon with our new ride-a-longs that Santa brought from the North Pole.  Yes, Virgina... there's still a Santa Claus in this house.

Rory

Ari

Dante

Allegra, Aria, & Rory - Jan 'o9

Seriously!

TinaMarie

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Shh...It's A Secret!

Ever wonder why secret ingredients are so secret?  I mean seriously, if you have the patent on the dang recipe, why is it still a secret?  On my side of the spectrum, do you not see just how life altering a secret ingredient could be?  Here's and example:

I was out with a girlfriend of mine for drinks celebrating her birthday.  She had a drink, mixed up by a bar keep how professed said drink to be the elixir of love (I love that word elixir...just rolls off the tongue... anyhow...).  Three types of alcohol was poured into this elixir; one of them a gorgeous shade of green.  It was a liquor she had not had before... she does not usually go for the color-filled bar glass.  After imbibing in said elixir, my girlfriend asked if we had seen the movie Hitch. 

Almost every food allergy (FA) mom has seen the movie Hitch because of the amazingly well done portrayal of an allergic reaction Will Smith's character had to eating shellfish - hits personally close to home because of Nando's anaphylactic (ANA) to shellfish.  Another well done portrayal of an allergic reaction is in the Disney movie The Game Plan , where The Rock's character has an allergic reaction to cinnamon - personal fav of mine since I am ANA to cinnamon.  That being said...

And back to the story (sorry) ...

When my girlfriend asked if anyone had seen the movie Hitch, I knew instantaneously what was occuring.  She started scratching...hives started welting up...head to toe, she was turning red and puffy, her tongue became thick, making it hard for her to speak properly.  She was given Benadryl (not sure if it is safe to have Benadryl with alcohol, but that didn't occur to me until after the swelling went down), and I was ready with my Epipens to stab her if need be.  Thankfully, her reaction lessened after the first dose, though we followed with a second does to combat the last of the swelling/hives.  She lived unscathed.

OK so now... back to every day life...

I was looking up the liquors that was poored into this elixir of love and came across a road block I see ALL too often.  On the websites, there is not a shred of information about the ingredients.  So I emailed the company, explaining the reaction as I always do.  The reply... Sorry Ma'am, but the ingredients are part of the secret recipe. 

WT...???  I was instantaneously LIVID!  (another fab vocab of mine)

So I called...

I explained to the 1st Customer Service Rep. that answered the information that I needed... no help there; what a ditz!  I asked for a Supervisor... got no where.  I asked for a Manager superior to her... still got no where.  I RE-explained how one of these liquors set off an ANA reaction, and we needed to know WHAT could be the culprit.  Nothing.  Freakin' B*#)*^@&!!! 

Pardon my starry vocabulary!

This just proves my point that the food labeling laws need to be expanded to include ANYTHING that is ingested or can be absorbed by a person's body.  I have thrown away too many products because of unclear labeling... Yes Virginia, kukui oil is actually from the macadamia nut.  Don't get me wrong, I am REALLY glad we have the new 2oo7 Food Labeling Laws.  If you have ever seen a list of the number of things milk alone can be called in a label, it would boggle your mind (check it out here).  But c'mon, you silly CEO's with your secret ingredient lists... is it REALLY that important to keep it a secret when giving us this information could be saving a life???

I think not!


Seriously!

TinaMarie

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