I met a friend of mine at Lake Line Mall last week for a play date. She has 2 little ones and her little boy is only a few months younger than Jack. When I got to the mall I asked how often the play area is cleaned, because those places are usually covered in germs, and they said they clean it every day. We got there right as it opened so I figured we would risk it.
Initially we were the only ones there. The kids were having a good time. The thing that I like most about the place is that there is no food allowed. Or so the giant sign says! I'm sure you can see where this is going...
As the mom of a keto kid, I am constantly scanning for food on the floor, watching for people that are eating so I can steer Jack someplace else, and always aware of our surroundings. I usually keep Jack right by my side (or follow 2 steps behind him) when we are out in public. Of course we all know that things can happen so quick.
Well, my friend and I were sitting there talking and the kids were on the other side of the little play area, probably 10 yards away, when I looked up to see a woman holding a Ritz cracker out for Jack to take. The only thing I could do was scream and yell not to give it to him. My voice echoed through the mall from the tile floor and the woman jumped about 3 feet in the air. Poor Jack was standing there with this look on his face of, "I don't know if this is a good idea" and he wasn't even reaching for the thing, thank God. We wonder how much about the diet he understands. He gets that his food is different and he gets that he has his food and we have ours, but I'm not sure if he gets much beyond that.
We're talking about a kid who loves lettuce, because it's a special treat, and a kid who thinks black olives are the best thing in the world. He's never had a cookie in his life, never had an m&m, never had gluten. Thankfully he doesn't know what he's missing, but he is curious.
The woman, clearly a grandmother there with her granddaughter, probably about 60, was completely ashamed. I told her that you should never give food to a child you don't know without asking the parents first. EVER! I also told her that one cracker could make him have seizures for 2 weeks. She apologized profusely and I clearly scared the crap out of her. I just hope that she doesn't try and do it again with another kid.
There are so many food allergies, diet restrictions, intolerance with gluten and/or casein, the list goes on and on. So the Public Service Announcement of the day is PLEASE, if you don't know the child (and maybe even if you do) don't give them food without asking their parents first. Because clearly if you offer it to my kid, you get screamed at in public.
I think it took all day plus most of a bottle of wine for my heart rate to come back to normal! And the main reason it freaked me out so bad was the last time someone gave him something, and the only time that I didn't get there in time to stop them, he immediately had a seizure after going 63 days without one. I was in a group of mom's, someone gave him a dried cranberry that I dug out of his mouth 1/2 chewed, and he had a seizures. I'm running with him in my arms, saying "Jack, look at me baby, are you okay?" and laying him on the floor to see if he's okay, and no one even asked if I needed help or if he was okay. Some people are just oblivious. Please don't be one of them!
No comments:
Post a Comment