My first real-attack was in 2008 in Paris. The combination of dairy and gluten, with my ripe age of 28 was an accumulative allergy-attack. I first lost the feeling in my left arm, and then a tingly feeling started in my left ear. I eventually had my back go out and my legs stop working. It was one of the worst experiences of my life.
In Iza’s first 5-weeks alive I had mastitis (blocked milk duct, very common) and was prescribed a gluten-encased anti-biotic (even after checking with my doctor and the pharmacist), ending in the emergency room with an anaphylactic reaction, 2-days before my mother’s wedding. Needless to say, Iza and I didn’t sleep for 2-days after from the two EPI Pens I was shot up with.
It is a mild fear I live with when I eat out anywhere but in my kitchen, but I deal with it and I never waiver or try my hand at fate. I make sure Iza has a steady regiment of gluten in and out of the house, and when she offers me something I casually turn her down and say “Thank you.”