I am a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, and a mom to two beautiful daughters plus a pretty good cook. Over the last ten years, I have learned to navigate the grocery stores, the school system to create a safe environment for my daughter and learned to cook some delicious allergy-friendly meals, so I became a Food Allergy Advocate and Consultant.

My youngest daughter always had a sensitivity to baby formula, so she was put on a hypoallergenic formula which seemed to help but she still showed some reflux symptoms. At her one-year appointment, her doctor put her on a nutritional dairy drink instead of whole milk because she was very small and only weighed around 19 lbs.

After a couple of weeks on the nutritional drink, my daughter would have episodes where she curled up and screamed in pain. After talking to her pediatrician and three visits to the ER in one week, we still didn’t know what was going on with her. Under the advice of other parents, I took my daughter to a gastroenterologist to get tested for Celiac disease which came back negative. The gastroenterologist hospitalized my daughter to do an endoscopy, run tests to see what was going on, and put in a nasal feeding tube to boost her weight and caloric intake. When the test results came back from the endoscopy, she was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE). Basically, white blood cells that normally fight off parasites, were attacking her esophagus and stomach because she ate and drank food and drinks that she was allergic to. Unfortunately, there is no cure or real treatment for EoE.

My daughter was removed off of ALL food for six weeks to allow her body to heal. She remained on the feeding tube and a special formula for approximately six months so I had to learn to insert and remove a feeding tube which wasn’t fun for either or us! Gradually, she was reintroduced to foods one by one but remained on an elimination diet. An elimination diet avoids the top 8 foods that are most allergenic which are milk, eggs, wheat/gluten, fish, peanuts, tree nuts, soy or shellfish.

Needless to say, I FREAKED! I was just told that my one year old couldn’t eat “regular” food, so what was I going to do? She was in daycare so what did that mean for her? I didn’t want her watching other kids eat and she couldn’t eat! After months of a little self pity, yes I admit it, I decided to cook and bake her everything that matched “regular” food! I learned the best places to shop, what to buy, how to save $, what to cook for not only her but our entire family.

I remember the frightening feeling of not knowing where and who to turn to for answers to alleviate the extreme amount of stress I was under. After living this journey for the past ten years, I became a food allergy advocate and consultant to help other families by sharing what I’ve learned and experienced. I want parents to know that there is hope and help for them and their family and that they’re not alone.