PEANUT ALLERGY SCARE C'mon Man! What are the chances of this happening.

Well now its time to tell a few stories about our "scares" in food allergy land.  On Halloween this year we travelled out of town for the day.  Our only choice was to fly Southwest Airlines due to the time we had to arrive at our destination for an event.  This is always a scary choice as SW Airlines serves peanuts on all its flights.  Thankfully they do allow you to let them know if someone traveling has a Peanut Allergy.  We appreciate this fact. I made all the necessary arrangements ahead of time and again at the gate.  They designated the flight a "non-peanut" flight and serve pretzels instead. (Of course they cannot control the food brought aboard.)


We carry wipes aboard and my son wipes down the seat, seat belt, tray, armrests etc.
We settle in. All went well with our outbound flight. The first flight of they day usually results in a clean plane, so all went well.


The return flight- same bat channel- all the precautions.  Of course the plane has ferried passengers to their destinations all day full of peanut munchers  (note- I actually love peanuts myself so no offense meant to my fellow peanut lovers).  Needless to say the plane is not clean nor any effort made to clean up the peanuts.  Yes when we chose to fly on SW we expected this might be the case.  Yes this is a  little nerve wracking.  


Alexander takes it in stride but he must be a little fearful.
I don't think the prospect of a peanut emergency in mid-air with an Epipen that only lasts 20 minutes (and a 2nd Epipen a few more minutes) and thus  the possible scenarios have dawned on him. (is this a run-on sentence?)


We take off.  Usually and wisely a SW flight attendant announces that there is a "peanut allergy aboard" but this time they did not.  Sure enough about 30 minutes into the flight the lady next to Alexander pulls out her snack. I wish I had a pictures.
It was a GALLON SIZE BAGGIE full of every kind of peanut imaginable. I've never seen such a thing.  A gallon baggie full of peanut M&M's, spanish peanuts, salted peanuts, dry roasted peanuts.  You get the idea. YIKES!


I thought "what are the chances?".  The chances of the only person in the universe with a gallon size baggie full of peanuts plopping down right next to a kid with a peanut allergy 
(not to mention the "mid-air" part.)
"C'mon man!"


Alexander did not say a word.  When I noticed this baggie I whispered to Alexander that he needed to tell her he had a peanut allergy etc.  He say "no" and I thought "are you crazy".
Not able to convince him, I waited to see if she was going to eat some of her "snack".
A little while later she started to open the bag.  It was open maybe 1/2 inch and the strongest peanut "aroma" I had ever encountered wafted through our aisle.
I had to let her know my son had a peanut allergy. I was nice and respectful and she was nice. She immediately put away her peanuts. (Thank you whoever you are). Near disaster avoided. God answered my prayers for protection.  


"What are the chances".  Tell us your "C'mon man story"


Share your food allergies stories. Email your stories to me at salt.light.truth@gmail.com and
I will post them on the blog.
I know some stories might not turn as well as the story above but I am sure they will help others.  
After all there is a world out there waiting for help or encouragement.

The Countdown to the BIg Day

On November 18, 2010 Our son Alexander will begin a new oral immunotherapy program for his life-threatening allergy to peanuts.
This new treatment is supposed to provide a long-term solutions for patients allergic to any of 4 different food allergies. In my opinion, It is revolutionary. 

Alexander will be treated at Dallas Allergy Immunology located in Dallas, TX. 
As of the date of this post they have had 40 patients successfully graduate from their food allergy treatment program which treats Peanut,Milk,Egg and Wheat food allergies.


Some patients and their families travel from other states in order to be treated.
Why? 
Living with severe food allergies is often a huge challenge not to mention unnerving and scary.
I would love to hear your food allergy story.


This blog is written to help others. You can too by posting a Comment in the box below with your questions, helpful information or your story. 


Treatment here we come! Hallelujah! We pray.

(details forthcoming in additional posts as we proceed thru the treatment)

Where to begin?

Where to begin?  This is my first post and my first blog.  Until a few months ago I knew literally nothing about blogs.  My friend Kay Wyma told me she wrote a blog called The MOAT. I loved it. I then realized that I had in fact visited a few blogs while searching for recipes.

All that said, I decided to write this blog Just A Little Peanut as my feeble but heartfelt effort to help others with food allergies.
My teenage son Alexander has a life-threatening peanut allergy.  He is 15 years old.
We are embarking on a "peanut adventure" of sorts as we begin a new Treatment program using oral immunotherapy to de-sensitize my son to peanuts.
He is "off the blood chart" allergic to peanuts. 

This food allergy treatment program is also available for Milk, Egg and Wheat allergic patients. It is only offered in a few places in the U.S.
This is not a clinical trial but a full fledged treatment program!
Alexander will be treated at Dallas Allergy Immunology.
(more details will be provided in later posts as we proceed with treatment).

So join us on our journey.  This new de-sensitizing treatment program just may be the "miracle" breakthrough all of us with a peanut allergy or peanut allergic child have been praying for....