So here we are, we have this great diagnosis written in the back of the discharge papers from the ENT and after a couple hours of Google, I think maybe there's a mistake. And maybe there could be but the fact is that even if that were true, I've already been introduced to this world, to the parents who struggle tears everyday for their childrens health, to the adults who weren't diagnosed soon enough, and to the kids who have the strength of 10,000 men to be able to endure what they do so there is no going back. I have always been an advocate for others. My profession background has been working with teens who had mental health and substance abuse problems and those who have intellectual and physical disabilities. I've always been a voice for others. But now that we're working through the struggle, I have become our advocate. My passion and profession is to help people change their lives through health, fitness, personal development, and financial freedom. So I now have a responsibility to my son to take this skill that I am learning and pay it forward to the next set of eyes that hears this diagnosis.
With all that being said, let me get to the point...
Eosinphillic esophigitis sucks! There is no way around it, and that's just the honest truth. I'm not a doctor and this is not an official description of EoE but it's the vest way I've learned to describe it. Basically your body treats food like it's a parasite. Your white blood cells (the eosinphils) head up to your esophagus as you eat. These eosinphils leave scarring that can form rings around your esophagus squeezing it tight making it difficult to swallow. Any food can be a trigger and cause a flare up. Flares don't always happen in the throat. Vomiting is one of our most frequent however, Gavin also gets swelling in his eyes, itching in his ears, swelling in his nose, eczema, and what we think is asthma at this point. The worst part is that the only way to tell if something is a trigger food is to try it. Most allergy tests won't identify it. Gavin for instance has zero allergies when the scratch tests are given. Basically once someone is diagnosed, they eliminate the top allergens for the diet and start there. If there are still eosinphils present, they eliminate more. In some cases, these children are fed liquid amino diets through ng tubes and G tubes. Then one food is reintroduced at a time after healing has occurred. Children experience many scopes and procedures to determine pass/fail of food trials and it's a life of ingredient reading and cross contamination hell honestly. It changes our lives and the lives of those around us.
Our children become different. They have different foods and different ways of eating. People hear me talking about the crazy hybrid of paleo /vegan meal plan I've created and don't understand why it's not ok to just let him have a slice of cake or some ice cream as an occasional treat. Sure, I tell them. Go ahead and give him to him, but make sure you don't like the shoes you're wearing because he'll likely immediately have a reaction all over them. This is not something I'd wish upon anyone. And the fact that it likely could have been prevented by the government never allowing gmos and hormones to be put into our food supply makes me angry. The more chemicals in the food, the more harm it is doing to our culture but we will fight. And we will heal with real nutrition! That is our purpose.
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