Brooke Jacobsen has been around.
Just 18 years old, she is already a seasoned traveler,
having visited a slew of far-flung countries, not to
mention trips to various parts of the United States. For
a girl just out of high school, the extent of Brooke's
traveling is unusual. What is more unusual, however, is
that Brooke has life-threatening food allergies, the kind
that would keep most close to home.Brooke is one of
approximately 11 million Americans who have food
allergies, a condition that can range in severity from
mild to anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal reaction. Food
allergies differ from other allergies because even a
trace amount of the wrong food can be fatal. Each year,
hundreds die from food allergies and over 30,000 people
are treated in emergency rooms, according to the Food
Allergy Initiative. Ninety percent of all food allergies
are caused by eight items–
eggs, shellfish, peanuts, fish, soy, wheat, milk (dairy),
and tree nuts (pecans, almonds, walnuts, etc.). Brooke is
allergic to six of those eight foods.
"Her first reaction was at 6 months when we tried
dairy, a thumbnail of cottage cheese," says Brooke's
mother, Allison. "Her eyes swelled up and the doctor said
she may have a dairy sensitivity." Then at 9 months,
Allison gave Brooke a tiny bite of a hard-boiled egg.
The
baby immediately got sick and threw up.
When Brooke was two, she was standing on a stool in
the kitchen, watching her grandmother scramble eggs.
Within moments, Brooke was covered with hives, her eyes
ballooned shut and she was struggling for air. The
toddler was rushed by ambulance to the hospital where she
was treated with adrenaline and, after many hours, her
condition stabilized. The episode was a turning point for
the family.
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