Food Allergy Institute TIP Patient Interview: Liz Gilligan

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Liz Gilligan is a food allergy mom to Jack, an 11 year old allergic to peanut and tree nuts. They live in Pacific Palisades, a suburb of Los Angeles. Jack is on maintenance for tree nuts and currently dosing peanuts but has been cleared for cross-contact. Liz’s advice to anyone interested in TIP is to join the waitlist while you learn about the program; it’s been life changing for Jack and her family. Her favorite moment from Jack’s time in the program was when he no longer needed to ask what kind of oil a restaurant used in their fryer and was able to safely eat at Chick-fil-A, which uses peanut oil.

 

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What were you doing before TIP to stay safe?

Avoiding Jack’s allergens.

How were you feeling before joining TIP? What was your state of mind?

I remember feeling discouraged because there was talk of a peanut patch but I didn’t think that would be helpful because Jack had other allergies. It never seemed like anything was moving in any positive direction, as far as treatment options go, and Jack was feeling anxious and hesitant to try things.

How did you find out about TIP?

Jack is on a baseball team and while we were watching one of his games, I was talking to the mom of one of his teammates. I mentioned his allergies and she told me her daughter also had peanut and tree nut allergies and was about to finish this program, which she thought we should check out. She told us more about TIP and it made me decide to join the waitlist. After that, I told my friend Jen, her sister, and my housekeeper about the program. We ended up sponsoring my housekeeper’s son in the program. He has the same allergies as Jack and when my husband and I talked about enrolling Jack, we decided we couldn’t do it without enrolling her son, too. We all ended up getting on the waitlist that same day and our first appointments were all scheduled around the same time.

What was your biggest concern or reservation about starting the program? 

I was a little nervous, which I think a lot of people are, but I didn’t have any other concerns.

How did you navigate it?

I was able to ask the mom who told me about TIP a lot of questions and I trusted her. It also helped to know that at that point, the Food Allergy Institute had so many patients who had graduated from the program and were able to eat nuts, which I couldn’t even imagine at the time. Getting to talk to Dr. Randhawa at our first appointment made me feel completely at ease and we just jumped in after that. After that, I didn’t doubt it at all and I’ve seen that it really does work. Jack is eating a lot of nuts he couldn’t even look at before and hasn’t had any major reactions.

What was the deciding factor for you to join TIP?

My conversation with that mom at the baseball game was what sold me.

Did you know anyone in the program or connect with anyone before starting?

Other than the mom who first told me about TIP, no!

How have you kept your child motivated in the program?

Jack doesn’t like nuts at all so the biggest struggle for us has been getting him to eat them. To help, I’ve been coming up with ways to get them to taste better. I’ve baked them into a chocolate chip cookie, put them in chocolates, and even made breakfast bars but he still feels the nuts and doesn’t like the taste. We keep adjusting and trying new things though and I’m doing whatever I can to help. It was also helpful for him to go through the program with other people. He knew his friend, Elliott, would be in the program at the same time, and our housekeeper’s son, who’s a couple years older than him and he looks up to.

What would you tell someone considering TIP?

It’s been life changing for us. From my perspective, the choice was to either hope that we never had to deal with a child in anaphylaxis or to do something proactive, and this was the only proactive thing we could do. I’d also suggest joining the Facebook groups! It’s helpful to see posts from other people going through the same thing as you.

What’s been your favorite moment in the program?

About a year ago, they told Jack he could safely have peanut oil and he kind of didn’t believe it for a while because he was so used to asking what oil they used for their fries when we’d go to a fast food restaurant and if they said peanut oil, he wouldn’t even want to go in because he’d be so nervous. We went to Chick-fil-A over the summer and he had his first chicken sandwich and French fries fried in peanut oil and said “Mom, nothing happened!” He was so happy. 

How has TIP changed your child’s life?

He’s so much more relaxed and he’s really enjoying the freedom he has now. I think nuts made him so anxious and seeing him be more at ease and getting to go out to eat without having to worry has been great.

How has TIP changed your life?

I feel a whole lot better about a lot of things like him being on an airplane or being able to send him to camp, for example. This summer, he went to an overnight camp in a remote area of Sequoia National Park for 2 weeks with no electricity and very little communication. If there was an emergency, they’d have to drive for a phone. I was worried at first but the Food Allergy Institute was great about working with us and adapting his plan so he could keep up with the program while he was at camp. It wasn’t an issue at all and that gave me so much confidence. If it hadn’t been for TIP, I would’ve worried non stop. They’re so good about working with you because they want kids to have those experiences and not have to worry. I can’t imagine not being in this program—it’s changed so much for us. Now we’ll go to restaurants and they’ll ask if we have allergies and I’ll mention his allergies out of habit and then I remember we don’t need to worry about it anymore.

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