Anaphylaxis

Serious food allergies (Anaphylaxis)
hold my daughter prisoner too...

We didn't know about allergies
until one day when Tamsyn was 5yrs old
she nearly died...

Faiusa's channel

*My Anaphylaxis Angel*

It was an ordinary day, just about morning tea time
my baby, and toddler were settled into their morning nap-time
my eldest child had been dropped off earlier at school
(Tamsyn was in her first year of primary)
when a neighbour unexpectedly dropped by, with a friend

But before the kettle could boil, the telephone rang...

It was the primary school to tell me that my daughter was ill...
vomiting and covered in a rash, they asked me to come pick her up
i felt sick to my stomach and worried about meningococcal
as it had been in the news at the time
and i remember glancing at the symptom check list i had stuck on the fridge

Before we quickly left...

i believe to this day, that on that particular day
even though at the time we knew it not
that my life was filled with ~Angels~
and that everything was being very carefully orchestrated

for a ~Divine turning point~ in my life

For it was not just 'lucky' that on that particular morning my friend decided to visit
(as i don't drive and she did and i would have had to rouse the littlies and catch a bus to school,while her teachers in hindsight foolishly waited for me)
and not just 'lucky' that that she chose that particular time, while my babies quietly slept...
and not just 'lucky' that her friend could stay with my sleeping babies
while we rushed off to the school, because little did we understand then
that every single moment was precious
for none of us knew (even the teachers) that at that very moment

My child was dying...

And i will never, ever forget when my eyes first set upon my child
(Tamsyn had seen me running to her classroom through the school windows
and had met me in the corridor...where i found her standing alone, waiting
and her teacher later told me that until that moment she had refused to move,
an instinct that helped save her life we later understood)
and i will never forget how my breath was squeezed from my lungs at the sight of her...
and often to this day i have wished that someone had taken a photo of my dear little girl
for in all my experience of allergies since
i have never seen a photo of a person so advanced into their allergic reaction

And still breathing...

For in the 15 minutes it had taken to get to her side, every part of her had swollen
her face and eyes, her arms and legs, her fingers and unbeknown to us then
but also her throat!

And i will never ever forget the look in her eyes
for that little girl knew in her heart that something was very wrong
even when no-one around her did
and so too did my heart scream it at me with the sight of her
so i drew my child up into my arms

And ran!

Luckily opposite the school was her doctor's surgery (it has since moved)
and luckily as we rushed in, one of the doctors was passing from one room to another and caught sight of Tamsyn...
and as the receptionist asked us to take a seat, the doctor called to us
to come quickly straight through...

i still remember the look on the doctors face as she called her colleague from his consultation
and i gathered my baby in my arms and began to quietly sing in her ear
while the doctors went to work with adrenalin shots

And saved her life

On that day, i believe i was surrounded by ~Angels~
on that day i began to know that my little girl was an ~Angel~ too
and on that day as my life turned down a new track of understanding...
i understood that we are always surrounded by ~Angels~

Later as i sat with my child in hospital
and we began to contemplate our new journey with serious food allergies
for many things were to change from then on
i began to understand why i had always felt afraid of 'introducing food' to my first born child
why i felt i had to be careful with her food (and yet it was different with her siblings) and how glad i was that i has listened to that inner knowing...
And how when my dear dad had died unexpectedly just a few short months later
i had known it unconsciously and in my heart
that he had left this physical place...
For i believe that my daughter has been ~gifted~ to me
to show me the ways of ~inner knowings~

As i believe all of our children are
those both born of us and not

My daughter's allergies have taught me how to feed my family real food
for we cannot (we choose not to in our home for her safety) eat all the packaged food with all their so called safety warnings
or all the sugary bakery food and lollies...
So she comes to teach me that in truth all food is dead that is packaged
and one needs live food, to feed one's living physical self...

And so i continue to learn through my ~Anaphylactic Angel~
for she has taught me, that all children are reflections of ourselves
they are our teachers, at times our saviours, but most importantly our ~Angels~

*On that eventful day in 1998 i learned that my daughter was anaphylactic to nuts, sesame and all legumes and i learned that on that particular morning that she had swapped a play lunch snack, with another child and had eaten her first cashew nut...
Her teacher from that fateful day went on to ensure her school put in place a viable allergy first aide program (when in those days there were none) and went on in her capacity as a deputy principal to educate and ensure allergy awareness to protect all children...
She too sees Tamsyn as her little ~Anaphylaxis Angel~

<3