Margie (and everyone else, I'll go ahead and introduce myself now),

I have recently re-joined the no-milk list (didn't introduce myself the
first time I joined), and I didn't see your original post. I would be happy
to assist your sister-in-law in writing her article. My 20-month old son
Nathan had an anaphylactic reaction after eating a small piece of cheese
when he was 11 months old. We had to go by ambulance to the emergency room
of Children's Hospital, Oakland, California because his airway was closing
and he was turning blue. It was the scariest day of my life.

Nathan had broken out in hives after eating some yogurt on two previous
occasions. In spite of this, our pediatrician advised me to "keep trying" to
give him dairy products. He could not believe that a child who had been
exclusively breastfed from birth could be allergic to cow's milk. After the
anaphylactic reaction that landed Nathan in the hospital, all he could say
was "isn't that weird". We switched pediatricians after that.

Nathan is currently doing very well. We make most of his food from scratch,
including bread (a bread machine helps with that). I still breastfeed him 5
or 6 times a day, so I am on a dairy-free diet as well. When he does drink
from a cup, he has water, enriched rice milk (we use Imagine Rice Dream), or
calcium-fortified orange juice. He also suffers from eczema, and the diet
management helps with that. We suspect that he is allergic to soy as well.
Our new pediatrician has advised us to steer clear of nuts (which we weren't
ever going to give him anyway) and shellfish. He can eat wheat, eggs, and
fish without problems.

I would greatly appreciate the chance to tell Nathan's story. Feel free to
forward this message to your sister-in-law.

Thank you,
Amy Sillman
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Amy and Tom, parents to Nathan 7-12-97
At home in northern California
[log in to unmask]       ICQ# 9525792
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