Cassie's Anaphylactic Reaction to Cheese
Linda and Bennie shared their story with us. The Jeng family began in 1998 when Linda and Bennie were married and lived in Shaker Heights, Ohio. They had their first child Cassie and, at nine months of age, Cassie had an anaphylactic reaction when cheese was introduced into her diet.After a few trips to the allergist, Cassie was diagnosed with severe milk and egg allergies. Just before she was two, Cassie's brother, Dailen was born in San Francisco, California. Linda followed a strict diet which excluded all milk, egg, fish and nut products while nursing Dailen. After one year, they returned to Ohio.
They delayed introducing egg and milk into Dailen's diet until he was older because of Cassie's allergies. Cassie outgrew her egg allergy just in time for her fourth Easter. Cassie's allergy to egg has reduced significantly, but she is still seriously sensitive to milk. After years of waiting, Dailen has no food allergies. Linda is again on the strict diet with the birth of her third child Garin. They plan the same plan of action as with Dailen.
Cassie is in kindergarten and Linda and Bennie developed an allergy action plan incorporating ideas from several sources and this has facilitated training and understanding of food allergies at her school.
Cassie carries an emergency bag with two injectable medications with different lot numbers on the bus each day. At school, everyone from teachers to classmates are involved with helping to keep Cassie safe.
