Have you ever noticed how every event in life centers around food? Birthdays, holidays, family get togethers.....it all ends up around the table. So having a child that cannot eat can be a real challenge. Okay, the challenge is not mine, but hers. And sometimes the real challenge lies with the host. Case in point....
We went to a barbecue the other day. They had hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and snacks, the whole enchilada. First the offer Bailey Cheetos. She kindly explains to them that she is not able to eat. She is allergic to food. She lifts her shirt and shows them her feeding tube. We explain we have formula for her in the car. "Well," they say, "can you have a hot dog? No, well what about a hamburger?" We explain she is allergic to meat. Next they pull out the potato salad. "Well surely you are able to have potato salad?" they say. (Never mind the bacon they just added to it. But is bacon really a meat?) Bailey tells them again that she cannot eat by mouth and she is allergic to pretty much all the ingredients in the potato salad. So, then they offer her nuts. Once again she explains that she really can't eat food due to allergies and that she takes her food through her g tube.
So, what happens next. They offer to blend a hot dog and she can eat it through her tube. You just have to love it....
And believe it or not, this is not an isolated conversation. We go through this at nearly all new events we attend. Heck, my mom lives with us and she is constantly asking if Bailey can eat this or that. It is so unnatural to meet an individual that cannot eat, that we just cannot wrap our minds around it. Food is a source of life as well as entertainment. How can it be possible that the very thing that is meant to sustain us can be poison to her. It is just so amazingly mind boggling.
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