The Story of Beara
Dear Readers,
I am thrilled that you have found my books enjoyable and are following the adventures of the Family of Fire and the Men of Turtlecreek. I love each and every one of my characters and they are like family to me.
I have a family of my own in the real world as well. I am married to a wonderful man and have three incredible children, two boys and a little girl right in the middle. Today I wanted to tell you the story of my little girl, Beara, not because she is any more important than my boys- they are all equal to me. No, I want to tell you her story because I want you to understand the dangers of Food Allergies.
Beara was born in October of 2009. From 25 weeks until 38 weeks she kept trying to arrive early. However, once she was at 38 weeks, she decided that she was perfectly happy staying inside. She proved just how stubborn she could be when, during my C-section, she flipped to a breach position (she was head down when I entered the OR). Her new position made it almost impossible to get her out and they were about to make a second incision when she tried to kick the doctor. She was grabbed by the ankle and practically yanked out. Yes, my little girl was stubborn from the get-go, and still is.
She scared us for the first time when she was six days old. After having an uneventful trip to the pediatrician’s office, we were all relaxing at home when Hubs noticed something green leaking from her left eye. We rushed her to the ER and within an hour she had been diagnosed with an eye infection- the result from the nurse who didn’t put ointment in her eyes when she was born. It took the hospital eleven hours to transfer us, and by then Beara was very weak. The doctor at the second hospital said the infection had spread through her body, another hour and we would have lost her. I burst into tears at her words; I had never been so frightened in my life. She was in the hospital four days, but finally we brought her home. Hubs and I thought the worst was over.
We were wrong.
For my first son, I formula-fed. I received a lot of comments about how I was hurting him, so when I had Beara I was determined to breast-feed. The first two weeks were hard, mostly from the hospital trip, but by the times she was three weeks old we had gotten used to it.
I noticed that something wasn’t right when she was five weeks old. After hearing her laugh for the first time I noticed a few spots on her cheeks. I knew Baby Acne was common, but something in my heart told me something wasn’t right. I also noticed she was much more cranky than usual. Hubs was sure I was just being hypersensitive after her hospital stay and I secretly agreed with him. After all, who wouldn’t be hyper-sensitive after their newborn ended up in the hospital.
At her eight-week check I asked about the spots, which were getting worse, and her pediatrician said it looked like eczema – something that was common. We were given a list of things to do to try to help her and we left feeling like everything would be fine.
By ten weeks Beara’s spots had turned into open sores. They were on her cheeks, the insides of her elbows, the back of her knees, her ankles and her wrists. We were at the Pediatrician’s office every other day. Beara stopped gaining weight. She stopped responding to us. She was listless most of the time. I watched her slip away more and more each day and wondered what I was doing wrong. I was her mother, but we couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her.
I was alone at the pediatrician’s office when the doctor told me that she had run every test she could think of. Beara had gained less than two pounds since her birth, she no longer responded to anyone, and she was covered with open-sores. I was told to prepare for the fact that she wouldn’t survive more than another two months. Those are words that no parent every wants to hear. The next day I was on the phone with my sister-in-law. I credit her with saving Beara. She asked me if Beara could have a food allergy.
A food allergy? That was impossible! I was breast-feeding, and everyone knew in early 2010 that breast-feeding prevented food allergies! No, it was impossible.
Still, her works kept bugging me, and an hour later I called our pediatrician. I explained to her what my Sister-in-law had suggested and her voice lit up. “That might just be it!” It turned out that Beara didn’t have the common reactions to a food allergy- she had the uncommon ones. That day we switched her to a soy formula and everything changed. Within six weeks she had gained three pounds, the sores on her body healed up by 90% (steroids took care of the last bit), and she began responding to us again. She laughed, she cried, she started trying to sit up, everything you see a normal baby too.
It turns out Beara was allergic to Dairy. Please don’t confuse it with lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance is a sensitivity or allergy to the lactose in Dairy- a sugar. Bear was, and still is, allergic to Dairy protein. Any type of Dairy products or Casein products can harm her.
That’s not all my little girl is allergic to. At one year, we found out she was also allergic to eggs – and the flu shot. At two years old, she was diagnosed with a peanut allergy. At three, we found out she was allergic to Peas. Yes, dear readers, peas. It is a very rare allergy, but very real, and in Beara’s case – it’s deadly.
You see, if you give my little girl anything with Dairy in it, anything with Eggs, anything with peanuts or peas, it could be fatal. Many people blow off food allergies. They say ‘A little won’t hurt’, but the truth is a little can hurt. A little can kill.
We almost lost her two weeks ago. She’s five now and in Transitional Kindergarten. Her teacher is incredible. The entire time Beara was in her class we worked together to make sure she stayed safe. Two weeks ago there was an assembly. Hubs had to work so I couldn’t go, and afterwards a parent brought cake to class. It’s a nice treat for the kids, but the teacher knew Beara couldn’t have it. She let the parent know, but was distracted. There were a lot of people in the class that day – it happens. What she didn’t know was Beara was given a piece of cake anyway. Beara was wearing a large allergy alert necklace and even asked if the cake was all right to eat. She was told to go ahead.
No one noticed that Beara started feeling tired. On the bus, she lost consciousness – luckily we were able to wake her. I took her home, but Beara kept saying she was tired. She kept lying down on the couch. Something was wrong, and I knew it. Finally Beara told me about the cake. My heart stopped. A store-bought cake, it’s the worst fear a parent with a food-allergic child has. I texted her teacher. I was hoping someone had brought a safe cake- or maybe Beara had imagined it. Her teacher texted me back, horrified. She admitted a parent brought cake and from where. I knew those cakes had dairy and eggs, two life-threatening allergies in one. Beara continued to lay on the couch, , her eyes were becoming glazed. She couldn’t even lift her head up.
I called 911. I gave her an epi-injection at their order and the paramedics arrived soon after. Her Blood Pressure was still low, but quickly came back up. That was what happened. You see, the reaction everyone expects is immediate, but the truth is sometimes it takes time. It can take 24 hours to cause harm. Most times the food allergic person will get hives and their throat will swell, but sometimes their blood pressure drops. The doctors told me its fatal most of the time because no one realizes they were having a reaction.
Beara survived. She very easily could have died two weeks ago. That’s why I decided to share her story – just in case you don’t know anyone who has food allergies. So you know, and understand, how dangerous they can be. So everyone understands that, yes, a little can hurt.
Lola Grace Stevens
Author of the Family of Fire series and Men of Turtlecreek series.
