Read about our experience in discovering an allergy to tree nuts

In the fall of 2006, our family was visiting with friends at their home. My daughter (three years old at the time) was hungry, so our host went to her pantry and returned with a box of chocolate chip cookies. I remember that she even looked at the box and commenting that the cookies had nuts in them and asked if that was OK. Sure, I said, so she handed Eva the cookie. The next thing I knew Eva was red-faced and gagging and coughing. I thought she was choking, so I grabbed her and ran to the bathroom where she threw up. Immediately after that, she was still conscious, but fell limp in my arms as I carried her back to the kitchen. We all thought she had nearly choked, but when I looked at the cookie, it was only the tiniest nibble missing, so there was no way the size of the bite could have been the culprit. Not understanding what happened, we bundled Eva up and headed home, still shaken and confused. Since it was the weekend, we couldn't take her to the doctor at the time. Little did we know how critical the situation was at the time. Mercifully, Eva recovered without any further intervention.

Monday morning, we had her in the doctor's office first thing. After we described the incident, the doctor instantly said it sounded like an allergic reaction and referred us to a pediatric allergist for testing. Sure enough, the testing revealed a high allergic response to tree nuts.

Since that day, our family has never been the same. While keeping Eva safe, we do our best to also keep her life as normal as possible. Connecting with other families facing the same challenge helps us along and makes the journey less lonely.

If you'd like to share your tree nut allergy story, contact us.