You're allergic to WHAT?!?

Yesterday was a fun day, albeit, a busy one.  Kiddo had a follow up with the allergist in town, so she was going to miss a day of school and have a Dada day.  She got to sleep in a little, be a little lazy in the morning, and right about 0900 we headed out for the day.

The car ride into town took about an hour.  Traffic and all that.  However, I brought coloring supplies and a book, plus we had Poley.  As you can see, our lil song bird was just humming away and having a time.  

Once we got to the hospital, we made our way to the Allergy Department and did our follow up.  Thankfully, the therapies we are using are working and Kiddo has and is feeling and breathing much better.  We have another follow up in two months and that will be into the rainy season and the winds will shift, so hopefully, with better air and better therapies for Kiddo, she will have less allergies and we can control things a bit better.

After that, it was a short 5ish minute walk to The Commons at Sala Daeng.  That turned into a little adventure as we got a little lost and missed our turn by about 50 meters.  50 meters short, that is.  So, we ended up in this alleyway with some bars and things in it.  We saw two British guys and asked them, but they were tourists/expats as well and weren’t 100% sure, but they directed us into the bar where an employee with good English helped direct us and we got to have a little adventure and explore a little.

Then, however, there were pancakes!  

Yeah, that about sums it up!  LOL. I had a patty melt thing that was… OK.  Average.  

After that, we got a car home and I got to chill for 40 minutes before making salad and starting dinner prep.  Kiddo got to do some iPad and chill.  Nanny Beer still came at 1500, so Kiddo got some Beer time and I got some work done.

It was, all in all, a good day.  And Kiddo was super sweet and well behaved all day.  She even spoke some Thai to the Doctor.  The Doctor was very impressed and commented that she (Kiddo) spoke Thai very clear and with a good accent that sounded local.  It’s not cool that I needed to get Kiddo to the Allergist, but it was cool to hear she’s A. Doing better and the doc said her nose and throat looked better and B. That the Thai Doc was really impressed with Kiddo and her Thai.

I do feel bad for Kiddo.  She got the allergies from me.  I guess, for me, it’s easy to sympathize with her because I have (and have had) the same.  The itchiness in the eyes, nose, throat, sinuses.  The drip and constant hack and cough.  Constantly sniffling and clearing my throat.  I get it.  I feel bad… maybe more so because I know she got that from my genetics.  

My family has very little allergies to speak of.  Myself, however, got the BINGO card of goodness.  Dust mites, pollens, most grasses, and most wild flowers.  I was always told I was allergic to shrimp and shellfish, but, it turns out that I am not.  My oddest is my cat allergy and my mammalian oil allergy.

I’ve had two allergists now tell me that I need an Epi-Pen were I to be around cats… and not long term, like less than a minute of exposure.  I’m sensitive to a level that both allergists claim they had only ever read about in texts and med journals.  The mammalian oils was an odd one and a long story (maybe for another time), but when it was figured out, a smart doctor took a few hairs from me (plucked from the back and crown of the head) and from the woman I was dating at the time to create two scratch tests for me- One of my own hair oils and one of hers.  They also used two controls.  Mammalian hair oil (no idea source) and human hair oil (MD at Stanford needed to order this in and thank god for good insurance at the time) to test me.  I reacted to all four at above 13.  In scratch testing, the scale is 1-10, but beyond that, you get into “severe reaction”.  Above 13 is, considered anaphylactic and “potentially deadly.”

I’m so allergic to cats AND mammalian oils that it is considered deadly for me.  Needless to say, I take allergies and their reactions very seriously.  Which is why it bothers me that some people down play it or just don’t take it seriously.  “Just take a Claritin” or “Just use some Visine.”  That would be akin to me telling someone on Lisinopril or Benazepril (still remember those, how ya like that JY!) for high Blood Pressure to just eat a little less salt.  Or maybe I can tell a diabetic to just eat no sugar.

Also, I was in my 20s before I saw an allergist for the first time.  I was told to just take a Benadryl and get over it.  Imagine, seeing a specialist in the field to help alleviate symptoms.

Then again, my mother is “allergic” to MSG.  Never mind that MSG allergies have been found to be debunked and rooted in racism and that people who claim to be “sensitive” to MSG complain of stomach ache, headache, or diarrhea… Symptoms that have never been associated with an allergic reaction.  Oh, and my mother will tell you this while pouring 1/3rd of a bottle of soy sauce into a pot while making dinner and then eating a bowl of BBQ chips.  Nope!  No MSG in chips or soy sauce.  Or parm cheese.  Tomatoes.  Mushrooms.  All things my mother eats with no ill effects.  Wild.  I wish my allergies would be so specific.  

I’ve given evidence to my mother and tried to talk with her about this.  I’ve even given her a soft out.  Maybe it wasn’t MSG, but food poisoning.  Nope.  She knows it was an MSG reaction.

Admit you’re wrong.  “Hmmm.  Well, since MSG can’t be an allergen, I guess it was food poisoning.  I never really acquired a taste for Chinese food because of that.”  Done.  Easy.  

Nope!

Gotta dig in and double down.  

We (J and myself) try not to do that.  We try to see the whole of a situation.  To not brush aside Kiddo and her complaints.  Allergies are real and can be deadly, so we treat them like such.  I think, in a lot of ways, that is another piece of what and why we are here and on this adventure.  We see and think different.  I’ve not driven in almost two years.  I don’t need to own a home with a backyard.  We don’t want those things.  We want Kiddo to have experiences and opportunities and learning Thai culture and language is huge.  We want her to have options and know that she has a whole world that she can explore and experience.  I was never given that.  J was never given that.  Heck, we couldn’t even get to see a doctor when we had legit claims, because we “could just take a Benadryl.”  Kiddo will have more, even if it’s not more stuff.  She will have more compassion.  More understanding.  More acceptance.  More actual parenting.  And, she will NEVER be told, “I didn’t have kids so I could mow my own lawn.”

Let’s go, Kiddo… We’ve got your allergies under control and we have another 15-17 months in Thailand and then we are going to be off on new adventures.  Let’s explore, see cool stuff, and just get lost (by a block or two) in BKK and have some fun.  We’re going to show you more countries this summer and (possibly) moving to one of them soon.  If not, we will base ourselves in Thailand and see other places.  We still owe you dinner in Paris (her request) and ramen in Japan (again, her request) and those sound like cool adventures to me and Mumma.