Rehab

For 4 years, I've been living with this icky skin condition called eczema. I would go through my highs of being itch free for a few months. Then I would go through my lows of being so itchy that I would scratch myself until I was bleeding. I hate seeing the sight of blood. Just not pleasant at all. It was quite a vicious cycle. As frustrating as it was for me, I know it must have been frustrating for the parental unit as well.

I believe I am on the road to recovery. We saw an allergy and asthma specialist. Within 10 minutes of meeting me, the doctor (who was quite silly and entertaining) was able to diagnose me. He definitely reiterated how much I am Pops' mini-me. Just like Pops, I have nasal/snoring problems. I've suffered a broken nose when I went through the birth canal (Thanks a lot Mom!). Because of it, I "drain" to the back which explains the swollen lymphnodes. Here's the kicker - I found out I'm allergic to milk, oranges, tomatoes, peanuts, and dust mites. Not only do I have allergies but I am a mild asthmatic. Well, this certainly puts everything into perspective.

So I'm on food rehab. Hopefully, this will clear my symptoms of eczema and I can carry on with my childhood like a normal 4 year old. Mom and Pops did some serious shopping in trying to find food-safe items for me. I can't give up mac n' cheese and my cheese quesadillas. What will I eat?! Thanks goodness for modern times because we were successful in finding casein and lactose free cheese, butter, and mac n' cheese. The staples to my diet. My milk will be soy based, which is pretty tasty. I love the chocolate soy milk! Pops will have the challenge of developing recipes using casein and lactose free butter when he makes his oyster and clam sauce. The tomatoes thing was a total shock to us. I'm Italian. It's what we live on. Well, at least I'm half Asian and I can sustain on rice products now.

So for the next 2-3 weeks I will be on this food challenge. I have to avoid the foods I'm allergic to. After the 2-3 weeks, we will slowly introduce them back into my diet and see how it goes. I'm hoping for the best. I'm mainly hoping that I won't be so itchy and I can just live my life.