At 13 months old, my son Brandon was diagnosed with a rare disorder called Eosiniphilic Esophagitus. This disease causes certain white blood cells(eosiniphils) in Brandon’s digestive tract to attack the tissue in his esophagus and intestines anytime allergy-triggering foods are introduced. These attacks cause his digestive tract to become swollen and irritated to the point that it is nearly impossible to tolerate any food or drink by mouth. Compounding these problems are the fact that Brandon has severe allergic reactions to ingredients that are found in most food products, namely milk, eggs, wheat, soy and peanuts. Brandon’s diagnosis was made when, in March 2005, he began to refuse any and all fluids by mouth. He would still eat baby food sparingly, but clearly was not getting the nourishment he needed. After a few days, he got dehydrated badly enough to require hospitalization. After 8 days at Children’s Hospital with no explanation of what was happening, we finally got a diagnosis - EE/EG.
The next five months consisted of a carefully regimented diet of foods that we hoped he would not react to. In August, an endoscopy was performed to check the condition of his digestive tract. The results showed that the condition had worsened. The decision was made to bypass the esophagus completely by inserting a feeding tube into his stomach. We currently feed him a formula called Elecare through this tube. Elecare gives him the most basic "stuff" that he needs to be nourished. He is now also able to eat baby food squash and bananas, cheerios, white grape juice and the occasional Dum-Dum sucker.
Brandon has endoscopies every three months or so to check the condition of his esophagus and stomach. The goal is to introduce one ingredient at a time and then scope his system to see how it reacts. If the scope comes back clear, he can add that ingredient to his diet. Until this process produces enough foods to keep him nourished without the formula, we will have to continue feeding him through the tube in his stomach. To learn more about this disease, go to the link for the CURED FOUNDATION, a non-profit organization that raises money for continued research on this disorder.http://www.curedfoundation.org/
