21 Foods and Counting

17 months ago (March 2014)

It's been 17 months since we took almost all food away from Bradley. That was March 2014. We allowed a small list of 10 foods, plus tea, sugar, pepper, and salt. Four months later, in July, we received great news....his esophagus and colon showed very little sign of his disease rearing its ugly head. He was healing and that also meant we got to add more food. Seven months later, in October, we got the best news ever....absolutely no eosinophils showed in his biopsies. I couldn't believe my eyes, but when his doctor confirmed it with a phone call it finally started to sink in. So yes, we got to add even more foods.

Only this time we were looking at a whole new section of the plan his dietitian came up with before we started down the road of tube feeding with a specialized formula. This time there were foods that Bradley has tested allergic to in the past. This time food introduction was going to be much slower (my preference). We didn't want any set backs since things were going so well and Bradley was making so many improvements and finally gaining weight. He was becoming your typical, energetic little boy.

So take it slow we did. So slow in fact that it took another 9 months before he had another set of scopes. We stayed safe and if anything seemed to react with him at all (even if we couldn't be sure if he just had a cold) we would avoid the food, allow time to pass, and then try something else. My concerns during that time about the possible foods to introduce were shared with Bradley's allergist and she felt the same as I did about going slow because we would be entering territory that may not be safe. There was hope to add in a meat after those October scopes. But that was one of the foods I was very unsure of introducing. 

You would think I would want to jump on getting meat added back because once that is done we can start using less of the formula. But Bradley has tested allergic to chicken, beef, and pork in the past. After some months of thinking (8 months to be exact), it hit me. Ask about seafood items...fish, shellfish, etc. Usually those are among the top food allergens, but in the past Bradley never skin tested positive for them. So the allergist and I discussed the idea and we went for it. Bradley was skin tested and had bloodwork done to check for an allergy to seafood and chicken. Fingers crossed. If the results came back fine and his scopes were still clean, then we would slowly get to add something from the list. 

Today we got the results back on most of the foods we tested. Results that we weren't quite expecting. He is least allergic to fish on the list of items we tested for and still very highly allergic to milk and egg. But even with low numbers for some of the items, an allergy is an allergy. He won't be able to have those items. Kinda makes me wish we had tested beef and pork just to see. 

So I sit here today. Crying every once in a while because no matter how much you prepare for results you don't want. Sometimes the results just hit wrong and you can't help but feel a little defeated. We are still waiting on the results of his scopes from last Thursday. Praying the news isn't another blow, but prepared in case it is. If eosinophils are present, then we will have to take foods away again. It will be guess work. If they are not present and we get a zero count like we did last October, then we will get to figure out another food to introduce. 

We are so thankful that he can have all he is allowed to have. There are so many with Eosinophilic Esophagitis who have no safe foods or less than a handful of safe foods. So right now we sit at 21 foods, tea, and some seasonings. Of those 21 there are several he won't even eat. Also, the foods cannot be prepared the way you typically would prepare them. Only with the seasonings and oils I list.

**Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an allergic inflammatory disease. Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell and they shouldn't be in the esophagus. Bradley has them there and in the colon. Basically, Bradley's own body attacks itself, it sees food as a foreign invader that should not be there. This attack causes many troublesome symptoms as well as damage to the esophagus and colon in Bradley. His feeding tube and taking away foods has allowed his body to heal. 

Bradley's Food List as of August 2015

• Lettuce**
• Broccoli**
• Green Beans**
• Squash**
• Carrots**
• Sweet Potato
• Pear
• Plum
• Apricot
• Peach
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Black beans
• Black Eyed Peas
• Pinto Beans

**Indicates foods he won't eat.

Items that may or may not stay on the list

• Rice
• White potato
• Watermelon
• Cocoa
• Flax seed
• Oats

Drinks, seasonings, and oils

• Tea
• Sugar
• Brown sugar
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Cinnamon flavoring oil
• Peppermint flavoring oil