"Man, Mom. I've spent my whole life fearing the epi-pen. It isn't really that bad after all."
The picture above would be the epitome of irony considering what I am going to write about today.
Yesterday we went to one of our favorite places to pick up an easy dinner: Yoder's. It's an Amish/Mennonite family-owned place only a few miles from us. They have fantastic jams and breads and sandwiches and baked goods.
I always check baked goods to see if they don't have egg when they are available for purchase. It's a habit of mine. Almost all have egg, but I'm always excited to see if I can find a special treat for Isaac that he can eat. It's like a "mission impossible" for me.
Yesterday I found a "Yoder's Special Christmas Cake" at our favorite little store. Check out the label below. You can see that there is no egg listed:
It was expensive, but I considered it worth it. A cake without egg? That never happens. I literally said to myself: "This is too good to be true."
In fact, it was.
So the short story? I bought the cake, went home, fed it to Isaac, and he had a horrid allergic reaction and had to have an epi-pen shot.
The longer story. Well, the Holy Spirit was speaking to me. That still, small voice was telling me: "Don't buy that cake. It's too good to be true."
In fact, I was so nervous about it that I asked two different employees if they could confirm it did not have egg. Their response was a polite: "If it isn't listed, it doesn't have egg."
I read it three times. When I got home, I asked my cousin Hannah Grace to read it too. It did not have egg. I gave Isaac some cake.
Within five minutes of eating it, he became violently ill with diarrhea and vomiting. Three hours later, JB finally decided he needed an epi-pen because he couldn't stop throwing up.
Today, I drove back to Yoder's. I had my boys and nephew, Gabe, come in with me so they could see how I handled this. I immediately told them I was not angry. I was there to (1) save another person that might stumble into the same error or (2) find out if the cake did not have egg because that would mean Isaac was in fact allergic to something else.
The lady who prints the labels came out to talk to me. She was very kind. She apologized profusely. I told her that I was not angry. I wanted to instead use this to help. (I should have asked for a reimbursement. I'm sure she would have given me one, but I honestly didn't think of it until I was home.)
While this situation could make anyone angry/frustrated/sad etc., I have decided to teach my children about the positive parts of this story.
Yesterday we went to one of our favorite places to pick up an easy dinner: Yoder's. It's an Amish/Mennonite family-owned place only a few miles from us. They have fantastic jams and breads and sandwiches and baked goods.
I always check baked goods to see if they don't have egg when they are available for purchase. It's a habit of mine. Almost all have egg, but I'm always excited to see if I can find a special treat for Isaac that he can eat. It's like a "mission impossible" for me.
Yesterday I found a "Yoder's Special Christmas Cake" at our favorite little store. Check out the label below. You can see that there is no egg listed:
It was expensive, but I considered it worth it. A cake without egg? That never happens. I literally said to myself: "This is too good to be true."
In fact, it was.
So the short story? I bought the cake, went home, fed it to Isaac, and he had a horrid allergic reaction and had to have an epi-pen shot.
The longer story. Well, the Holy Spirit was speaking to me. That still, small voice was telling me: "Don't buy that cake. It's too good to be true."
In fact, I was so nervous about it that I asked two different employees if they could confirm it did not have egg. Their response was a polite: "If it isn't listed, it doesn't have egg."
I read it three times. When I got home, I asked my cousin Hannah Grace to read it too. It did not have egg. I gave Isaac some cake.
Within five minutes of eating it, he became violently ill with diarrhea and vomiting. Three hours later, JB finally decided he needed an epi-pen because he couldn't stop throwing up.
Today, I drove back to Yoder's. I had my boys and nephew, Gabe, come in with me so they could see how I handled this. I immediately told them I was not angry. I was there to (1) save another person that might stumble into the same error or (2) find out if the cake did not have egg because that would mean Isaac was in fact allergic to something else.
The lady who prints the labels came out to talk to me. She was very kind. She apologized profusely. I told her that I was not angry. I wanted to instead use this to help. (I should have asked for a reimbursement. I'm sure she would have given me one, but I honestly didn't think of it until I was home.)
While this situation could make anyone angry/frustrated/sad etc., I have decided to teach my children about the positive parts of this story.
- Positive: This was the first allergic reaction that required an epic-pen since 2014! That's four years.
- Positive: Normally, when Isaac eats egg, his airway is impacted. This is, obviously, a serious issue as it could mean he dies. But this time, he began throwing up/diarrhea. While not good, this means that his life is not in nearly as much danger.
- Positive: JB was home!
- Positive: My husband is a doctor!
- Positive: As soon as Isaac received the shot he immediately felt better. In fact he said: "I have spent my whole life fearing that epi-pen shot. It really isn't so bad, and it was totally worth it to feel better." Isaac letting some of his fear go is so fantastic for him.
- Positive: The cake did have egg. In fact, the thing that I was the most worried about was that this was not an egg-reaction but that Isaac might have to add something else that he is allergic to.
- Positive: We were given a bit of a "wake-up call" that smaller establishments don't have as many checks and balances to confirm their allergens. We were able to learn this lesson without a serious incident.
- Positive: The Holy Spirit is real! Gosh, when will I learn to listen to that voice?! Another opportunity to be reminded that God is present.
- Positive: I could teach my kids that we don't have to go insane and threaten to sue people who make legitimate errors. While a big mistake, it is still a human error. Humans are just that. And they deserve our kindness.
- Positive: The epi-pen is amazing. Isaac went from writhing (literally!) around in pain to laughing and making jokes and smiling within one minute. We instantly knew it was an allergy because of how much better he was so fast.
Of course, I was doing all this was a HUGE egg on my head ... check out this photo below:
I'll save that story for tomorrow ...
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