Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are off the menu at the Kennedy house. You won't find any Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers or Peanut M&Ms either. Julia is officially, confirmed by skin and blood test, allergic to peanuts, as well as pecans and walnuts.
I suspected she might have a peanut allergy a year ago when she got a mild rash the first time she tried peanut butter. Since then I have avoided giving her anything that contained nuts. That was until recently when Wade decided to "challenge" her peanut allergy with a PB&J while I was away from the house. One bite into the sandwich her face broke out in hives, her lips swelled up and Wade finally believed me that "we don't give Julia peanut butter."
While Julia has only had swelling and hives with previous exposure, her allergy doctor made it clear that every reaction to exposure can be different. We have to keep an Epi-pen with her at all times and be prepared for an anaphylaxis emergency.
It was clear this past Easter weekend how difficult it will be to keep Julia safe when we are away from home. It seemed like every other Easter Egg she opened had peanut butter candy in it. What is yummy for most kids is poison for Julia. I had to snatch most of her Easter candy away from her as soon as she got an egg opened. Thank goodness she was a good sport about it. The scene could have gone so differently if she had been in a different mood.
Julia's nut allergy is just one more scary medical issue. One more potentially life-threatening, how am I ever going to keep her safe when she is out of my sight, medical issue. It's just one more thing.
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