Sisters, South Beach and Smooches. . . . .

have you heard of South Beach?

it's one of those places that goes by more of a nickname 

than the actual location.

south beach, SOBE. . . .

it is actually Miami Beach. . . .

or more correctly, SOUTH Miami Beach,

which explains the name "South Beach".

so, have you heard of it?

maybe you saw it in the movie

The Birdcage with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.

Hysterical when it came out, and kinda/sorta true:)

South Beach has quite a reputation for being a FUN place,

Beautiful Beaches, cool refurbished art deco hotels. . . . .

and a crazy side.

yes, DEFINITELY a crazy side.

all too wild.

but parts are kinda cool and very pretty.

like the beach, and the boardwalk along the beach.

we were in south beach last Sunday, so here are a few pics. . . . .

GORGEOUS water!

lots of celebrities stop by south beach.

and where celebrities go,

the PAPARAZZI will be there also!

yep...there they are. . . .the paparazzi.

apparently some model was on the beach with her friend and let me tell you,

she didn't move a toe in the sand without them snapping away.

personally, i think they should've been snapping pics of my partner in crime,

Jordan.

we were in south beach for Taylorina 

to attend

an audition for Ballet Austin (Texas) 

that was held at Miami City Ballet.

fun times.

well for me and Jordan.

maybe not her.

she had to work:)

 probably more than the beauty of the shimmering turquoise Atlantic,

was the beauty i caught on my own iphone camera.

i went to the car because the meter was almost up and

Taylor was not yet out.

Jordan stayed at MCB to wait for her and show her where we were parked.

as they walked to the car, i caught a glimpse of them as sisters.

and it was so special.

they were walking, talking, laughing. . . . . .

being sisters.

and it was such a beautiful sight for me.

they have their moments.

oh yes!

but they truly love each other.

and that's all i could have ever hoped for, especially through these

teenage years.

yes, sisters are special.

i have three of my own.

 and i know how very blessed i am!

sisters.

they had their moments.

they STILL have their moments.

moments one of them just feel this need to drive the other one crazy.

on purpose.

gotta laugh sometimes, right?

now, i believe i mentioned "smooches" in the title of my blog post.

so here you go. . . .

hey sweet boy. . . . .i'd sign up for a smooch from you!:)

xoxoxo

Suzanne

Hard to be Happy.........

...............when parents are still waiting for news that their child was spared.

news that most likely will not come.

these parents who sent their child off to Kindergarten.........

only to never get to hold them again,  make them breakfast, pack their lunch

tell them a bedtime story, give them a hug, tell them goodnight,

hear them say "mommy (or daddy)  i love you".

not everyone will agree with me,

but this is a broken world.

28 killed in Connecticut.

22 killed in China.

it goes on and on.

i pray for these precious children, their families, the emergency workers,

every single person impacted.......... and that should be all of us.

i pray for this world...........

a big task.

but a broken world needs it just as a broken heart needs it.

 hold those you love closely.

and pray.

the VERY important, life-saving facts about food allergies

a week ago i wrote about a peanut reaction my 17 year old daughter

had from eating a rice krispie treat while at a ballet performance.

the rice krispie treat had been made with peanut butter added and because 

she had never heard of that, the thought didn't occur to her.

by eating just a few bites of it,

she suffered her first severe anaphylactic reaction.

here is the link for that blog post:

momma, something's wrong

if this sounds kinda boring,
i get it.
 sometimes learning important things works that way.
but......if you are faced with someone in this situation,
it wouldn't be boring then, i can tell you from experience;)
my sister mentioned she was glad to learn this as Vacation Bible School
was coming up.
i never thought of that.
Good one Nancy:)

please forgive me if this post is all over the place.
if i take any more time to organize, it may never get done.
i can tell you THAT from experience too:)
my sources are at the end of this blog post.
  i don't know nearly enough about it,
but just want to share what i have learned through the years.


first, what is "anaphylaxis"?
ANAPHYLAXIS:  a potentially fatal condition in which sufferers
have trouble breathing because of constricted airways
 (caused by swelling of passageways due to allergy),
circulatory collapse (experience a sudden and drastic drop in blood pressure),
potential heart failure (have an increased pulse rate and may pass out).


*Food allergies cause between 150-200 deaths in the U.S each year,
with almost 60% of those stemming from peanut allergies.


*Peanut allergy is the most common cause of deaths from food allergies.

*According to scientists,
peanut and tree nut (pecans, walnuts, almonds etc.) affect approx.
12-15 million americans.
Then there are those who suffer from EQUALLY SEVERE
Bee Sting Allergies. (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network.)

*THERE IS NO CURE for peanut allergy and no therapies
that eliminate or reduce the severity of peanut allergy,
only treatments to be given after the fact.

*Reactions can be mild
 (tingling sensation, metallic taste in the mouth, warmth, scattered hives, swelling around the lips and on face, itching, runny nose, sneezing, mild cough, wheezing, pale, GI symptoms such as cramping or vomiting),
or SERIOUS.
ex. of hives after ingesting peanuts:

this is exactly how Taylor looked when she was younger and had accidental
contact with peanuts, even something as mild as another child touching her with peanuts on her hands.
now we have moved on to a severe peanut allergy, 
after assuming it was "ONLY" a mild one.

*Reactions can begin and proceed RAPIDLY, in extreme cases proving
FATAL within minutes.

*They used to think you could outgrow a peanut allergy,
estimating that approx 20% will outgrow it.
However, according to Viviana Temino, MD, Assistant Professor at the
University of Miami Medical School,
"if you have been allergic since childhood,
it's more likely you will stay that way."
she then goes on to say that the confusion comes because of other food allergies.
“A lot of little kids develop food allergies, but they are more likely to grow out of allergies such as eggs and milk," she says. "A peanut allergy is more persistent.”
so much for outgrowing this monster!

*did you know that peanuts are not a nut?

they are actually a legume, meaning a person who is allergic

to peanuts may not be allergic to nuts.

but it can happen.

Taylor is highly allergic to peanuts and also allergic to tree nuts.....

and for good measure, soy.

*Roasting peanuts makes them more allergenic.....and we roast our peanuts in the

United States.

UNLIKE other countries, which MAY indicate why their 

incidence of peanut allergy is much lower.

*Anaphylaxis requires immediate medical attention, including an injection of epinephrine

(commonly called an epi-pen) that most known allergic sufferers carry with them

and if not, most emergency medical personnel.  If a shot of epi is given, it must be followed up by a visit to the emergency room for a few reasons.

one being the use of a life saving drug means the patient needs to be seen in ER

and also because if they have not vomited,

the allergen remains in their body and can flare up again after a few hours.

this is called a biphasic reaction and it can be worse than the first reaction.

(after 17 years, this was the first time i had heard this fact!)

*if you have a history of asthma or family allergies, and/or have a history
of family anaphylaxis,
your chance of having a life threatening reaction is greater.

*once you have had an anaphylactic reaction,
 your odds INCREASE that you will have another.

Okay, because it is SO important,
here is a review of the SYMPTOMS of an
ANAPHYLACTIC/LIFE THREATENING reaction:
Symptoms of Anaphylaxis

Symptoms of anaphylaxis may include:
• Breathing: wheezing, shortness of breath, throat tightness, cough, hoarse voice, chest pain/tightness, trouble swallowing, itchy mouth/throat, nasal stuffiness/congestion
• Circulation: pale/blue color, low pulse, dizziness, lightheadedness/passing out, low blood pressure, shock, loss of consciousness
• Skin: hives, swelling, itch, warmth, redness, rash
• Stomach: nausea, pain/cramps, vomiting, diarrhea
• Other: anxiety, feeling of impending doom, itchy/red/watery eyes, headache, cramping of the uterus

and here is a list of 

Some Unexpected Sources of Peanut

• Sauces such as chili sauce, hot sauce, pesto, gravy, mole  sauce, and salad dressing
• Sweets such as pudding, cookies, and hot chocolate
• Egg rolls
• Potato pancakes
• Pet food
• Specialty pizzas
• Asian and Mexican dishes
• Some vegetarian food products, especially those advertised as meat substitutes
• Foods that contain extruded, cold-pressed, or expelled peanut oil, which may contain peanut protein
• Glazes and marinades

basically, there is no getting around it.

peanuts are EVERYWHERE!

and to make matters WORSE,

there are a BUNCH of food allergies out there.

According to the food allergy network;

Top Food Allergens

• Eight foods account for 90% of all food-allergic reactions: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (e.g., walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans), wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish.   Estimated prevalence⁹, some based on self-report, among the U.S. population:
  • Peanut: 0.6-1.3%
  • Tree nuts: 0.4-0.6%
  • Fish: 0.4%
  • Crustacean shellfish (crab, crayfish, lobster, shrimp): 1.2%
  • All seafood: 0.6% in children and 2.8% in adults
  • Milk and egg: based on data within and obtained outside the United States, this rate is likely to be 1-2% for young children and 0.2-0.4% in the general population.

Yikes, huh?

as a parent of a child who has been allergic her whole life, 

i have always believed the responsibility is mine and now mine and Taylor's

to inform others and be prepared.

when she was in playgroups, the other mother's knew about it

and didn't prepare things with peanuts.

they also knew what to do in case of emergency.

never once did i ask another mother to feed her child something else because of my daughter.

if there was a problem,

i would pack our own food or leave.

simple as that.

she has learned to question everything since she was younger and not to eat

unknown foods.

i know.....but what happened?

a case of letting our guard down and a particularly irresistible 

rice krispie treat:)

****Teens are the most at risk for fatal allergic reactions, and studies have shown that education of their friends would make living with a food allergy easier.****

today, we make sure her roommates at her summer ballet programs are aware,

as well as the resident nurse and staff at the school.

Taylor carries an epi-pen

(and WILL NOT forget it again:)

as well as benadryl for a mild reaction.

She also has a medical alert bracelet which i have purchased and made various bracelets for her.  The original bracelet came from an AMAZING

source,

Lauren's Hope.

she has so many different types of allergy alert jewelry, 

for young and old

boys and girls,

casual and dressy.

just look at some of the items......

this one from BW Silver looks really cool too!

so you see, there are a lot of options.

personally, i never let Taylor stray too much from the traditional 

because i want to make sure people realize it IS a medical alert bracelet,

but at least you have options.

if i had my way, she would have a tattoo on her wrist.

okay, it would be small and cute, maybe with a heart or cross

with the med alert sign too and a simple "peanut allergy".

believe it or not, this is a trend, starting with temporary tattoos for little kids and changing to permanent ones as they get older.

maybe i would and maybe not.

after last weekend, i certainly think so but......

okay, okay, this is long.

i know.

but hang on.

say you work with kids, volunteer, teach sunday school, are hosting

a playdate or mom's club (with kiddies).

how can you prepare.

first, do this.......

i guarantee someone will complain.

but don't let them get to you.

if it were their child, they would appreciate this.

some people just can't help being miserable, you know?

don't give in.

PLEASE!

ask mom if the child can have the treats you have planned.

let her make the call.

know the symptoms of reaction.

here are a few more tips......

  Even under the most watchful eye exposure to peanuts can happen, it's just a fact of life.  Don't freak out....with care, these children are just like all the others. 

know the signs:

1. Skin changes

2.  Breathing changes

3.  Tummy Trouble: 

What to do: In the presence of hives or other skin changes, give oral Benadryl and call the parent.  If the child is experiencing any two of these signs at the same time give the Epipen and call 911.  CALL 911 FIRST, then call the parent.  Make sure you give the Epipen to the EMT, because the hospital might need to know exactly how much medication the child received.  

As many an allergist has said, when in doubt, just use the Epipen.  The benefits far outweigh the risks.  

and lastly (WHEW, right?)

if your child has an allergy,

have a PLAN!

this one from peanut allergy kids is AMAZING!

how cool! 

all allergy suffers should carry something like this.

i know my daughter will get it stuffed in her purse:)

this should be in every backpack, diaper bag, purse, nurses office.....

it's that good.

a few more tips......

when flying, you can request when you make your reservation that 

peanut products NOT be served.

ask to talk to a supervisor.

every little bit helps.

try to think of places where cross contamination might occur.

if you go out for ice cream, ask for a new scoop to be used.

we did that Saturday night at Haagen Dasz and the young girl

immediately said "peanut allergy"?

we said yes, she got a new scoop

 AND put it under a high pressure cleaner.

now, one favor, please.

some in the medical community say this is overblown.

to them i say tell that to the parents who have lost a child.

what does it hurt to be prepared.

absolutely nothing.

and it might save a child.

that's what counts!

you can find more info at the links i mentioned.

                           

also, most info came from the American Academy of Allergy Asthma

and Immunology, as well as Medicine Net and the 

Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network.

Hugs and Blessings to All.......

Suzanne

Mama, Somethings's Wrong.......

before i start, i am writing this in a few parts,

to tell what happened, what we did and what we SHOULD have done

and hopefully pass on important info to help someone else.

i will describe our mistakes at the end...
and unfortunately, we made a few.

*******************************************

don't we all dread those nighttime phone calls?

especially when one of your chicks isn't safely home in the nest.

this past Saturday night was pretty typical.

we went to the beach earlier in the day so we were kinda wiped out.

you know how a day at the beach does that.

we had dinner and were just hanging out.

all except Taylor,

who went to dinner and to see a ballet performance

at a local high school with one of her best friends,

Alexis.

about 8:30 p.m,

my cell phone rang and i saw it was Taylor

because her little girl photo popped up on my screen.

my heart stopped a little when i heard fear in her voice.

"Mama, are you there?"

after i said yes, what's wrong,

she said something like "I don't know".

i asked her if she had been in a car accident.  she said no. 

i asked again what was wrong, where she was?

Taylor said she was in the parking lot at the school with Alexis.

then she said

"Mama, something's wrong with me".

actually, she was speaking in almost a whisper

immediately, i knew my biggest fear, ever since she was a little girl,

was happening.

i asked what she had for dinner.

she said they only had a salad and meatballs at an italian restaurant 

we often go to.

that was 3 hours ago and she felt fine all night.

until intermission when they came out to the bake sale.......

and she chose the one safe thing she could see,

that she often had eaten and made herself in the past.

MISTAKE # 1

she chose a rice krispie treat.

a rice krispie treat, usually harmless.
soon after returning to the auditorium,
she was itching and had stomach cramps.
she slipped out to the ladies room, thinking she would be sick.
she did not throw up, but by now she was shaky
 and looking kinda funny in the mirror.
i think this shocked her in more ways than one too, so she started looking up peanut allergies on her phone,
even though she knew the signs.
 it wasn't but a minute until she sent a text to Alexis,
asking her to come to the ladies room.
when Alexis didn't get there instantly (kinda desperate now)
Taylor sent another that read
"PLEASE HURRY!"
Alexis got there and they went outside to get air.
this is when she called home.

MISTAKE #2
i asked if she was having trouble breathing

and she said "a little",

that her stomach hurt and she was itchy and then

" i think maybe there was peanut butter in it".

she wouldn't know because she has never had it but she also knew 

something was very wrong.

MISTAKE #3

she sounded a little confused but not terribly out of breath,
 and since she and her friend were near the hospital where my husband works,

we told her to leave her car and have Alexis bring her to the ER,

where we would meet her.

we hopped in the car and my husband called and spoke to the ER dr.

to let him know she would be there in a few minutes.

when we arrived at the hospital, 

we saw them preparing to move Taylor into another room,

her friend Alexis by her side.

 the minute i saw Taylor, 

i knew for sure.

she was very hot to the touch,
shaky,
one red hive over her entire body... and i mean she was red and puffy.

itching like crazy,

sinuses congested,

and short of breath.

her BP was low and her heart rate had sped up.

even though i've been out of nursing 20 years,

i knew that's not good.

but for some reason, i was scary calm, the whole time.
go figure:)

so they gave her an epinephrine shot and started IV steroids.

the whole time, she was reassuring us:)
that's Taylor.

her dr. was wonderful!
he asked what she tasted in the rice krispie treat to make her throw it away.
she said "it TASTED like peanut butter SMELLS".
you read that right.
she hasn't tasted peanut butter since she was an infant,
but she knows how it smells.
hates how it smells.
avoids it at all costs.
but it snuck up on her.
she isn't sure how it tastes, except to say it tastes like it smells:)
and he explained that 

since she had not thrown up, the peanut product was still in 

her body and could react again when the epinephrine

 wore off and could even be worse.

so she had to stay awhile and be monitored,

which she didn't mind as she was sleepy anyway.

we agreed her dad would go home and Jordie and I would stay with Taylor.

(there was NO WAY her little sis was budging from that hospital:)

i don't think it was till the next morning that

any of us truly realized what a close call this was.
15 minutes more before getting help and who knows......

looking back, 

it could have been TRAGIC and there were things

 we could have done differently.

i want to tell you about that in case you are ever near someone

this happens to.

i know this is long, so very soon i'll share some really

 important info everyone should know.

EVERYONE.

it's that important.

life or death.

and no, i'm not being dramatic.

it's scary looking back.

God protected my little girl when none of us could.

i'm smart enough to know that......

but clearly,

not all that smart about peanut allergies.

so together, we'll get smarter:)

now, about those mistakes........

Mistake #1: 

~buying something that someone else had baked from home.

~buying something not labeled,

 ~buying something a mom made to raise money at a bake sale,

not knowing there was a child with life threatening
peanut allergies who would buy

her rice krispie treats.

a girl like Taylor, who knew how to make these treats

 and never suspected that anyone would put peanut butter in them. 

a girl who has always been so careful to ask how something is made,

if there are nuts,

a girl who let her guard down.

a girl who took a few pieces off of it and thought it tasted weird,

 so she threw the rest away.

(THANK GOODNESS)

a young girl who made one tiny mistake that

could have been fatal.

now if that isn't scary, i don't know what is.

Mistake #2:  

the minute we suspected it was a reaction to peanuts,

the first thing to do would have been to take her

epipen from her purse and give herself a shot of epinephrine.

that is how we always planned it. 

once her breathing was involved,

we are to skip right to that emergency shot of epinephrine.

but, we have gotten CARELESS.

Taylor forgot it when she hurriedly changed purses.

because she hasn't really had a reaction since she was little.......

and even then, it wasn't major.

a dose of Benadryl did the trick back then.

yep......i want you to know how STUPID we were.

and how it will never happen again!

(i hope there is never a need for a crash cart near my girls again:)

Mistake #3:

Taylor had the sense to call us,

and what did we say?

after finding out she was having signs of an anaphylactic reaction,

we told her to leave her car and go with Alexis to the hospital.

this was wrong for a few reasons.

1.  we should have said "call 911". i knew that. but didn't say it.
i really don't know why.
maybe i was hoping it wasn't bad, that it wasn't a peanut reaction.
who knows.
for sure, i don't know why i missed that one!

in this case, it's truly better to be safe than sorry.

the paramedics would have had an epi-pen.

2.  we put a terrible responsibility on her friend's shoulders.

what if Taylor passed out on the way?

what if she didn't make it to the hospital,

as has happened to others in the past?

what kind of guilt would her friend have carried her whole life,

because of our stupid mistake?

"oh, she's with Alexis.  She is a smart girl, very calm.....

she'll get Taylor to the hospital."

UGGGGHHHHHH.........

i will never believe i did that.

all's well that ends well, but...........

(all clear.....waiting to go home:)

it's really, really, really important to me that
i write these posts.
i never thought it would actually happen to us.
but it did.......
and what a scare!

you might know someone or maybe you have a child whose friend
has a peanut allergy.
it's nothing to mess around with.
i know parents get kinda crazy on both sides.
but bottom line,
if a child has a potentially fatal allergy,
that should trump everything.
including the treat you had planned for a class party.
i had a friend get irritated at us once when it was her daughter's
4th birthday and she couldn't bring her favorite peanut butter cookies
 to share with the class, because of Taylor.
oh. my. gosh.
 i still can't believe she had such a HISSY FIT!
i mean, the poor kid already can't eat half of her trick or treat candy.
no peanut butter cups or reeses pieces for her.
no pb&j sandwiches either.
EVER.
so deal with it, you know?
life is back to normal here.

i still have my little girl:)
you would never know we had such a scare.
Thank You God!

but in case anyone still doubts the seriousness of this food allergy,
let me tell you about these families who are not so
fortunate today.

 1.  the family of Emily Vonder Meulen,

who lost their 13 year old daughter 20 minutes after eating hidden
peanuts  in a chicken sandwich while shopping with her Mom.
here is a link for a Today show interview.

2. the family of 18 year old Laura Benson,

Laura died of a reaction to peanut butter in.....
RICE KRISPIE TREATS,
while serving with her church youth group on a spring break project
at church camp.
read her tragic, heartbreaking story here.

3.  last year, 7 year old Amarria Johnson died after ingesting a peanut.
this story is so tragic, like all the others.
read her story here.


 oh there are more.......
the high school boy who died after eating
 an ice cream cone from an ice cream shop.
the scoop had been contaminated with peanuts.

then there is the high school girl who died in Canada when her boyfriend
kissed her after he ate something with peanuts in it.
having a 17 year old girl,
THAT is scary!
Taylor basically knows that any guy who is interested in her
 is going to have to swear off peanut products.
same with her children someday.

these stories are so sad.......
and to think it only takes 1/1000
 of a peanut to cause a severe reaction.

i learned SO much through this.
actually, i thought i KNEW the facts already.
 not well enough, apparently:)
i just feel really compelled to pass on some of what i learned.
if this is of no interest to you,
i understand.
no, i take it back.
i don't understand:)
because we never know when this might come in handy.

each of these victims asked someone for help.
but did not receive it until too late.
if you read all the way to the end of this long post of mine,
thank you!
this was a scary moment in our lives.
to look at us now, you would never know anything happened.
but i think each of us is MUCH more aware of what could happen
and what we should do if it does.
especially Taylor,
who needed this as she prepares
to go out on her own in the future.
be back soon!
XOXOXOXO
Suzanne