Note: we went skiing over the holiday weekend. I'll be posting a few of the blog entries I wrote on the trip.
Amanda was technically old enough to go to ski school on our ski trip last winter, but she was pretty young (I thought) and had only been potty trained for a week or two... at any rate, this year she was definitely old enough to enjoy it, so we sent her.
It is always a little interesting sending Amanda out to day programs because of her allergies. She is learning to ask “is it Amanda safe?” but on the other hand, she trusts her teachers a lot to give her things that are safe to eat---no dairy, egg, peanut or tree nut. I usually send a lunch and snacks, and tell the leaders to just feed her from what I send. Sometimes it seems like overkill, but mostly not.
On the other hand, programs that see a lot of kids also see a lot of kids with food allergies. Leaders in such programs usually have training about what to do with kids with allergies. The program Amanda was going to was “peanut free,” also a good sign. So I felt pretty good when Michael went to drop both girls off.
At 11:30 or so, I got a call saying that Amanda had thrown up. Oh, no, she's got the flu, I thought. Well, I went off to pick her up---she looked red and itchy and very very sad. Just in case, I thought I'd ask: “Did she have anything to eat before she threw up?” Just some cocoa, I was told...
The woman I was talking to realized almost immediately that this was a bad thing. She asked the counselor that Amanda had been with again, and it turned out that the counselor had given Amanda a cup of cocoa, Amanda had taken one sip, spit it out, and then thrown up. The counselor was from Colombia, and didn't realize that cocoa had milk in it (are there any Colombians who can tell me whether this is common? I remember “Like Water for Chocolate,” which implies that you use water, but would you really not realize that hot chocolate has dairy in it?).
I gave Amanda some benadryl. Over the next few hours she got better in color (not so red) and more chipper (can I have my hot dog? Now can I have my hot dog? Now?). I gave her a bath and used fluticasone and theraplex, and that helped more. And she went back today---but with all her own food, and a big note on her nametag that she has allergies. Last time he saw her (when he brought the soy hot cocoa) Michael said that she looked like she was having a good time.
I admit that I was a bit upset with the ski school for losing track of Amanda's allergies. I know that Michael tried to make it very clear, but things might have gotten lost in the shuffle of registration (today they had nearly 100 kids there, wow!). But still---if you are going to say that you take kids with allergies, make sure you know what problems they might present, make sure you know what they are going to eat.
I was also a bit upset with myself for some vague reason. I'm not sure what I could have done differently, but I feel as though I ought to be able to take care of my kid's health issues. I guess I chalk it up to a learning experience, and make sure the next days go more smoothly. Amanda is eager to go back. When I asked her if she had enjoyed the lunch I packed for her, she said “Yes! And I didn't throw up!”
Amanda was technically old enough to go to ski school on our ski trip last winter, but she was pretty young (I thought) and had only been potty trained for a week or two... at any rate, this year she was definitely old enough to enjoy it, so we sent her.
It is always a little interesting sending Amanda out to day programs because of her allergies. She is learning to ask “is it Amanda safe?” but on the other hand, she trusts her teachers a lot to give her things that are safe to eat---no dairy, egg, peanut or tree nut. I usually send a lunch and snacks, and tell the leaders to just feed her from what I send. Sometimes it seems like overkill, but mostly not.
On the other hand, programs that see a lot of kids also see a lot of kids with food allergies. Leaders in such programs usually have training about what to do with kids with allergies. The program Amanda was going to was “peanut free,” also a good sign. So I felt pretty good when Michael went to drop both girls off.
At 11:30 or so, I got a call saying that Amanda had thrown up. Oh, no, she's got the flu, I thought. Well, I went off to pick her up---she looked red and itchy and very very sad. Just in case, I thought I'd ask: “Did she have anything to eat before she threw up?” Just some cocoa, I was told...
The woman I was talking to realized almost immediately that this was a bad thing. She asked the counselor that Amanda had been with again, and it turned out that the counselor had given Amanda a cup of cocoa, Amanda had taken one sip, spit it out, and then thrown up. The counselor was from Colombia, and didn't realize that cocoa had milk in it (are there any Colombians who can tell me whether this is common? I remember “Like Water for Chocolate,” which implies that you use water, but would you really not realize that hot chocolate has dairy in it?).
I gave Amanda some benadryl. Over the next few hours she got better in color (not so red) and more chipper (can I have my hot dog? Now can I have my hot dog? Now?). I gave her a bath and used fluticasone and theraplex, and that helped more. And she went back today---but with all her own food, and a big note on her nametag that she has allergies. Last time he saw her (when he brought the soy hot cocoa) Michael said that she looked like she was having a good time.
I admit that I was a bit upset with the ski school for losing track of Amanda's allergies. I know that Michael tried to make it very clear, but things might have gotten lost in the shuffle of registration (today they had nearly 100 kids there, wow!). But still---if you are going to say that you take kids with allergies, make sure you know what problems they might present, make sure you know what they are going to eat.
I was also a bit upset with myself for some vague reason. I'm not sure what I could have done differently, but I feel as though I ought to be able to take care of my kid's health issues. I guess I chalk it up to a learning experience, and make sure the next days go more smoothly. Amanda is eager to go back. When I asked her if she had enjoyed the lunch I packed for her, she said “Yes! And I didn't throw up!”
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