So We'll Swim Upstream...

Thanks to all of you who expressed your concern and love and devotion and shared your theories and advice and suggestions after my last post...I am blessed to have such caring (and b*ll-busting) friends and I love you too...no, scratch that...I love you more.

And now... the update....

Will and I visited the allergist this week... Ok, wait...rewind a little...when I told my story a few weeks ago, I left out some details to make the story flow succinctly...so, part of the whole mess you didn't hear was the ironic fact that mere days prior to my ER visit and 3 hours on IV, my jealous and possessive six-and-a-half year old, Will, complained of a "sore throat" while we enjoyed some lobsters for Sunday dinner. And the alarm bells went off...I made him stop eating and I announced that I would be making an appointment at the allergist as soon as possible so that he might be tested. And then that Wednesday, I had my episode. So....we made a tandem appointment instead....and this past Monday morning we sat next to one another on the examination table and each received these little pricks (ha!...not that kind...) in our arms and watched as the little pricks swelled to twice their size and turned red (ha!...again, obscene... the jokes just write themselves here...I am not even trying...). So anyway....this is what we found...

It was wrong of me to hate on the shrimp teriyaki...my brush with anaphylaxis was, in fact, not a result of those deliciously glaze-y, salty little critters...instead my tongue blew up and my throat nearly closed in reaction to the innocent little salmon avocado roll I snacked on at the same time. Salmon...I know! Who would have thought? You know, I don't eat it unless it is raw or smoked...so I don't really even eat it that much. You know the weddings and parties where you get the choice of salmon or beef fillet...I always go right for the fat, lazy cow as it will most likely be cooked more expertly than the salmon anyway. But, you know me...I am a foodie to the core, and any food allergy is a major blow...any inconvenience or restriction in any way almost puts me over the edge...so this is punishment, certainly (Damn hooky playing!!). I will miss salmon...because now, it needs to be removed from my rotation for good....now I get to carry an epipen in my purse...now I have an anaphylactic seafood allergy.... I am certain that this will cause me to long for all things salmon for the rest of my life.

During my pregnancies -- the only time in life I denied myself an exotic snack here or there in protection of my unborn angels -- I vividly remember daydreaming about sushi and beer all nine months...sushi and beer was all I wanted all 40 weeks...two things I knew weren't an ideal combo for the health of the fetus...I don't think either of those items are even treats I indulge in regularly, but at that moment in time, I wasn't allowed to have them and that just got to me. I suppose I am one of those girls...if you tell me I cannot have something...anything...if you give me parameters and guidelines, I will spend half of my life figuring out how to skirt said obstacles. In all things. So now, it is not only recommended that I stay away from salmon...my life depends on it.

But....at least it wasn't shellfish, right? I wasn't prepared to have to give up lobster rolls on the deck by the beach...or that creamy, delicious shrimp gratinee at Arturo's...or mini crabcakes with spicy remoulade....or Nantucket scallop season. At least that wasn't my issue, right?....

Well....don't expect an invitation to a celebratory crawfish boil, because I mentioned there were two of us on that examination table, did I not? That's right, my friends, my sweet little darling was right...his throat was sore that night after our lobster tails...because the little pricks in his arm told us that he is severely allergic to all shellfish...lobster, shrimp, prawn, scallops, crab, crayfish, langoustines...you name it. And on top of that, more cr*ppy news, he has a high sensitivity to mollusks...clams, oysters, mussels, etc.... And this is the child whose favorite food is escargot. I am so bummed for him.

Of course, I want to keep Will alive and healthy...I worked hard to get him here in one piece after he lost his umbilical chord and oxygen and I needed an emergency C-section to birth him...I have always been extra attached and protective of him. So we will avoid shellfish to the very best of our ability, of course...and as Suse pointed out, at least I don't have to worry about kids bringing shrimp cocktail or steamers in for lunch everyday like the nut-allergic moms worry each day with peanut butter contamination. That is all true. But as a lover of food, it does break my heart just a little bit that this child will likely (hopefully) live another 90 years and will never enjoy lobster rolls by the beach or creamy shrimp gratinee or mini crabcakes or seared Nantucket bay scallops...and don't even get me started on clam chowder (Say chowdah, Frenchy...!) and The Oyster Bar at Grand Central. I guess to protect him I will have to hide my disappointment too...I will have to pretend that clambakes and raw bar and chowderfests totally s*ck....but we all know that is a lie...and that he will be missing out.

So...what's an indulgent mother to do in compensation? What deliciousness can I introduce him to that will fill the seaside shellfish void? What cool summer pastime can I hook him on so that he feels just as festive as the rest of us while we watch the sunset sink beneath the horizon? Hmmm.... Damn...the only thing that keeps coming to mind is cocktailing...you know, almost as fun, festive and delicious as a lobster roll. Too early for that kind of fun though, isn't it? Oh, ok...yeah, I guess you are probably right....rushing my son into the wonderful world of summer cocktails is probably a mistake. So, I will have to keep thinking on it...wrack my brain for Will's next yummy diversion...maybe that will keep my mind off the smoked salmon rosettes I will now have to turn down at The Fourways Inn this summer in Bermuda...ugh...this is not going to be easy....

At least we know what we are up against though, right? Right.

xoxo, Suz