Why I Am Glad My Kid Got Food Poisoning!
81It was the Fairy Queen that did it!
I did not give up fast food because I was being health conscious. I really didn't give it that much thought at all, to be honest. I would take Laurel for a happy meal, or chicken nuggets. She liked taco bell and hardees. I know I should capitalize the names of those restaurants, but I do not want to give them any dignity they do not deserve.
Laurel's grandfather would pick her up from school everyday, as I was working the nine to five shift. He took her to Steak and Shake everyday (I still have a weakness for Steak and Shake!). Her grand pop was retired and hung out there with his friends. All the servers loved him, when he died they all pooled together their precious dollars and sent beautiful flowers. That really says something about a person and the impression they leave with others.
One day, Grand pop took her for an ice cream from Fairy Queen. Yep. The Fairy Queen did it. Laurel was eight and she got food poisoning. It was a good thing for us! I did not know what was wrong at the time of course; I just knew I had one sick kid on my hands. I was petrified. If a child is vomiting or has lots of nasty stuff coming from everywhere, dehydration is risky.
My mom had gone through nursing school by this time; I called her to ask her what to do. She told me to pinch the skin on the top of her hand - opposite of your palm, and if the skin feels papery or doesn't quickly spring back to where it came from, dehydration can be the reason. It was late at night, and I could not tell if the skin was "papery" or not so, I just took her to the Emergency Room.
The E.R. doctor was a young woman, very nice, very patient. She examined Laurel and suspected food poisoning quickly. The doctor and I went through a list of what she had consumed that day. Then Laurel remembered that she had eaten that ice cream and it did taste funny, but of course, as children do, she ate it anyway.
The doctor suggested that it would be a good idea to run a Complete Blood Count and some other blood work, just to be on the safe side. I was on that side with her. She called me three days later, sweet doctor, to tell me that she had noticed that Laurel's cholesterol level was 272! Which is exactly why her case of food poisoning was one of those crazy blessings in disguise? Normally, the doctors told me - they would have never checked the cholesterol level in a child that age.
I followed up with her pediatrician and a nutritionist. They did more poking and prodding and found out that she did indeed have very high cholesterol for a child her age. I was not to allow her to eat school lunch (EVER). No more fast food or junk food or food that was high in fat or cholesterol.
Laurel was eight, old enough to understand that I was not punishing her and that this was because she needed to stay healthy. She was excellent about it! She loved to go to the grocery store with me and look at the foods she regularly liked to eat and we were both surprised about how much fat we were both eating!
The strange thing that we both noticed is as she would pull a box off shelf and start reading the ingredients to me - people would often shoot me hateful looks! Looks that said, "What kind of controlling mother are you!" If we went out to dinner, she learned to make better choices. Once, in particular, the server was taking our order and asked Laurel which side dish she would like to order. She asked for the broccoli. "Are you sure you don't want the fries?" he checked and double-checked all the while looking at her as if she was kidding him.
It was a difficult transition, but one that had to be made. Now, I have lost my taste for fast food and rarely resort to it. Every now and then, I do let the girls have McCraps, cuz a kid has to be a kid. It is just a treat. I also rarely allow soda, especially caffeinated sodas. Not because I am being mean! I am careful because I am their mother and I care about their health. The kids will test me, they will say, "Well why do you drink coffee every morning?"
Answer: When you are 18 years old and can leave this house, you can poison your bodies in any way that you choose. Until then, it is unfortunately my job to make those horrible decisions for you! Hate me now - love me later:)
A Few Fast Food Figure Facts
McDonalds Cheeseburger = 300 Calories, 12 grams of fat (6 grams saturated and 0.5 grams of trans fat), 750 milligrams of sodium.
KFC - Kids Popcorn Chicken = 550 calories, 32 grams of fat (6 grams saturated), 1,500 milligrams of sodium.
Dairy Queen Kid's Cheeseburger Meal = 580 calories, 26 grams of fat (10 grams saturated), 1,300 milligrams of sodium.
Burger King Cheeseburger = 560 calories, 29 grams of fat (10 grams saturated with 3.5 grams of trans fat), 1,180 milligrams of sodium, 3 grams of fiber.
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Thanks for taking your time to read and comment! I appreciate the feed back:)
congratulation !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
on you hubs view 1000.nice keep in touch
Wow thanks Imranhaider! Is that good? I still don't know yet:). You're a treasure! Thanks for taking your time to read this:))))))))
That is a very interesting story and what a fortunate result that you caught the cholestorol problem quickly. I am not quite sure what destroyed the Roman Empire but at least it was not fast food as it seems to be here in America. This was a great article to inspire some other moms and dads out there to be more interested in their child's diet....good write! WB
Wow - I can't believe she had gotten that her cholosterol had gotten that high! It has got to be the fast food. Makes me wonder if I should get my daughter checked out. She is obsessed with fast food. Luckily we haven't been eating too much of it any more.
Great hub... voting it up!
@ WB (hey I'm starting to get the hang of this?)! - yes I wonder how many moms will cringe when they see the fat content of one nasty burger! Thank you for reading!
@barbergirl - yeah I didn't quit fast food because I'm smart - just following the doctors orders!
I hope neither of you forget about me when you get to Hollywood:-)!
NO - I hope that when I get to Hollywood you will come visit and throw a few quarters in by guitar case... lmao!!
Fast food is toxic. Besides the high content of salt, these foods are filled with chemicals. And we won't even mention the fat! We tend to believe that high cholesterol does not affect children. This hub is a wonderful wake up call!
Well it seems you did a great job of taking a negative and turning into something positive....makes me more motivated to cook more meals at home....great hub
I would agree. Way to make a negative a positive. Check out my hubs when you have a chance. Especially the new one. It involves protecting our children
Everett Winchester
www.startmybiz.info
Vocalcoach - thank you - I agree! I had no idea what was in the food we were consuming. Check out cereal - the fat and sugar content in that is unbelievable! Did you know cocoa pebbles has more sugar than Raisin Bran?? Even adjusting for the amount per serving does not make a difference. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
Cogerson - I won't lie - it was a difficult transition but it is worth your health:). Thank you so much!
Everett - I love it and I already am a fan:) thank you so much:)
Oops sorry vocal coach - actually I meant to say cocoa pebbles has less sugar than Raisin Bran! I am a very tired housewife - we had tornadoes here last night - all the electricity went out - I'm sorry I don't want to give out the wrong information! :). Thanks again!
This is a fantastic hub! Good to hear that your baby girl is doing better and your blessing in disguise came to you when it did! I personally have seven children so for me fast food is out due to the massive cost of it. My kids don't eat cheeseburgers they like big macs at seven dollars a meal thats a whole lot of money for one dinner.
It's good to be a "healthy mum" while their little bodies are growing and so quickly they need those added vitamins and minerals and because of you another parent somewhere in the world is going to think twice about what they feed their children! Good for you!
WOW no doubt we often learn from life altering episodes. I do hope your daughter never deals with this again and enjoys great food and health. It's so tempting to eat fast food but together families can learn to organize healthy to go meals. Go for you and best wishes on your new culinary adventure. :) Katie
Phoenixarizona - good for you! Wow - 7 children ? I can't wait to see YOUR hubs! Thanks so much for commenting and reading!
Katiie! Hi! Thanks for stopping in - Laurel is 22 now - so she is still doing great! She still doesn't eat very much fast food - I know because she still lives here:-). She is a loan processor by day and a criminal justice major by night - who woulda thunk it?!! Thanks so much for hopping over:-)
Great hub! i have a 1 year old daughter, i will surely apply this to my parenting in the future, I'm glad shes okay!
Hey RealHousewife, another candidly honest and great hub from you. We have totally fazed any sort of pop out and fastfood of our lives over the last few months due to my husband having health problems, but it has been a great shift that we all needed to make. Thankfully, my 3 year old has always been a healthy eater - she eats tomatoes like apples, and loves olives for a treat! Now I am worrying about the sugar in the kids diets, I do let them drink too much juice and have too many "treats" (i.e. freezies/cookies/chocolate milk) in a day. I guess you can only work on one vice at a time!
Nordy - first thanks! You're great! Next - have you tried some of the flavored water - my girls love the black cherry water - Zero calories - Zero Total Fat, Zero Carbs, zero sodium, zero sugar, zero protein and the main ingredient is filtered carbonated water. Also if you have seen minute maid juice pouches - they have the least amount of sugars. I bet your boy will love any of those too! Thanks so much for commenting!
FatherFitz - thank you so much for joining hub pages and taking your time to read and comment. I admire all proud fathers:-)
Thanks for the heads-up, I will definitely check those out. My kids' teeth thank you!
I tell you juices are one of the hardest things to find that are low sugar. Even the new breakfast juice drinks in the pouches are so high in sugar - my girls would never sleep:-)
I have 7 kids at home, we have homecooked meals every day.
We never go to fast food restaurants, we can´t affort it.
But by the sounds of it it´s a good thing... ;-))
Thanks for sharing!
Hi DIR - true! Additionally, you don't miss junk food you've never had:). The few times we may resort to fast food (traveling - treat days) the prices are unbelieveable! Thanks for reading:-)
Oh what a graet post really informative for me.
www.reasonz.com
Thank you! I hope you never have to actually get food poisoning though - just not pretty. LOL? Haha
I hate to think of coffee as poison, but you're right, it's not the best for our bodies. But I LOVE it! And as a mother of three under four, it's the only way I can get through my day without falling asleep standing up. :0)
Great hub. I am glad your trip to the ER resulted in getting your daughter back to healthy eating. Good for you, mama!
Thank you for your kind comments and your time - we mothers have so little - but yes I am a coffee addict as well:-) my goodness and with three under 4 years - I would have an I.V. drip of coffee! Haha!
Awesome for you! Many parents unfortunately, would just fall back into old habits. We use to be junk food junkies, my kids still would if I let them. lol!!! We are still in the beginning stages of changing. I've already gotten to the point that I can't stomach most fast food. It just tastes terrible to me now. When we have to choose a fast food place (it does happen at times), I try to find a Subway, since it is healthier that most. I love the fact that they even have healthy kids meals (I just wish they didn't have artificial sweetener in their yogurt!) I'm really glad you found out your child's elevated cholesterol before it got any worse.
Thank you Eclectic! You are trying and each day you will get more and more used to not having the junky stuff! Good for you - and yes the oldest is now 22 - she is very fit and doesn't eat junk food of her own choice - she really forgot kind of that she ever did like it. So I knew better than to introduce it to the little girls - they do get fast food sometimes too - but again, it is a treat and they know its not good for them! But they are kids with the palate of kids:)
So glad you found out about the high cholesterol when you did!! I am thinking about having my 9 year old's checked. Her father and I have split custody and he never cooks for her, only ever takes her out to eat. You cannot tell him how bad it is for her, he just doesn't listen :( My younger daughter is not my ex husband's so she lives with her father and I together. We might eat mcdonalds 5 times a year here, if that. So my youngest should be pretty healthy but my oldest worries me. This is a great eye opener.
You ever see the movie super size me (I think that was the name?) The guy ate nothing but mcdonalds for a length of time and he started to really destroy most of his organs. It was an experiment so he was being monitored by Drs during the time, they all told him to stop before his experiment was over.
Wow Dawn - no I didn't see that movie! I think I'm going to now though:-) thank you so much form your time and your comments - I do appreciate that:-) the movie tip too:-)
You are welcome :) I am pretty sure that was the name of it. It was pretty crazy, the reality of all the fast food.
I have to admit - I am very curious about it now:-). Thanks again! I am going to make it a must see!
What an awesome little girl that was inspired to take control of her health, with your great dedication as a mom doing the best by her daughter. You both have positive "can do" attitudes. You were fortunate to get lucky with the E.R. doctor because without her diligence in covering all possibilities, you would never have known something that could affect your daughter forever. I wonder if, at her young age, despite her diet, she might be genetically predisposed to high cholesterol? Did you have yours checked to, RealHousewife? Your story reminds me of an E.R. episode where a young family had a car accident. The young daughter, probably 10 years old, got banged up and they were putting her though a CT scan to check for injuries and found a large mass in her chest. They discovered non-hodgkins lymphoma as a byproduct of that accident, which saved her young life! Just a TV show, I know, but many of the situations were taken from real life events. I am so glad that an unpleasant experience such as food poisoning, resulted in a win/win for your family. Loved this piece and thank you for sharing.
Amy! Thanks for hopping over! Yes - it is in her genetic code on her father's side. I didn't know about it though because no one thought it was important to her health. I am so lucky though I agree - and I learned that if we start teaching good eating habits sooner there is less resistance:-). My kids don't miss junk food they have never had!
Funny article which really astonished me when i saw the heading,Why am glad my kid got food poisoning.Thanks for sharing,bravo.
Yes Crystolite - it was a mysterious way to find out that I needed to raise a healthy child before her arteries were clogged by the time she turned 16!
As seductive as it is, everybody should stay away from fast food. Nevertheless, this Friday I'm going to treat myself to some. It's been a long time coming. I wish you and your child luck on the dieting. Later!
Thanks Kosmo - for stopping in and commenting. Part of the trick is not to use the D word! Tell the kids it's real crappy for them then they lap it up:-)!
My kids got to enjoy some McDonalds last weekend - they act like I'm taking them to a carnival not a drive thru:)!
Awesome and informative. I love the "When you're 18" rule!
It's really difficult to change eating habits. You really are an involved and awesome mom!
I have to admit, though, one of my special treats is the $2.00 meal deal at Taco Bell.
My kids do not care for taco bell! Thank goodness - dealing with McCraps is hard enough! I would allow it once in a while, but they like my HO made enchiladas more than anything. Only 5 ingredients so I love it too!
It is like fighting the devil at first, but I found after a while they grow to prefer the better food. Laurel is 22 now and still has excellent eating habits. It's what she knows so she doesn't like the taste of really greasy food for example. She's really a tough girl and very physically fit! One down 2 to go!
I guess it's good when good comes out of something bad. It does bug me when kids order something healthy and the waitress tries to force fries or something else, rather than saying "great choice" like they should. Told ya you were a good mom! :)
And with the soda thing, what people don't know is it eats holes in the enamel on your teeth, as well as the caffeine! I actually went through the caffeine withdrawal when my dentist said NO MORE SODA! My problem was waking in the night taking a sip and going back to sleep! But since I was lectured by my dentist, like a child (actually I still go to a child's dentist he's great) lol, I'm so used to drinking water that soda doesn't even taste good. My downfall is a milkshake, but not often. I've paid good money for too many clothes for them not to fit lol. It's good to see good mom's out there, not harsh and demanding but just good! Like you :)
Kat - you are such an angel:) you must have been a great mom too - I mean look at how you treat your Rot! She has a baby bed for gosh sakes!
Soda - it's just like straight sugar! And great point about it ruining their teeth. They can have it for a treat but no way do they get it every day. The girls tried to whine to my doc about me never giving them soda and she told them her kids NEVER get it. That shut them up;)
Dave had to get stitches in his eyebrow a few years ago and the only doctor was a pediatrician
and I said that will work out just great cuz he's a big baby! Lol! Maybe I should send him to a kiddy dentist!
Someone up there is looking after you and your family. A great story with a great ending. I have a bowel of porridge every morning though as a kid I hated it. It is funny how we get to like the things we used to hate as kids. Voted up.
Great hub! Sometimes, you just never know what your body is up to until you do a body checkup. Many people thought that as long as they don't feel anything wrong, they assume that they are healthy. The truth is, it will be too late when you feel it. That's the reason that I insist on doing a blood and urine test every year.
SW - I often thank my lucky stars:). Porridge?what exactly is that? It doesn't sound very tasty!
Myi4u - great point! I take the girls every hear for a check up - usually that is the only visit they need all year. I can't say enough about prevention.
Great eye opener. Thankfully, our family doesn't eat out much, but this information is invaluable.
Namaste.
Fast foods are junk. They make one sick for sure sooner or later. And the amount of sodium and fat they contain is lethal.
Great hub.
HI Rajan! Thank you so much! I think it's shy we have SO many health issues in our generation, the additives to fatten the cows for market - fillers - I shudder to think about it.
Hey - I wrote this a long time ago - so now you see why I admire your hubs so very much. I learn so much from you:). Thanks again for that too.
Great story!
I recall as a kid I'd go after church on Sundays ..home with one of the typical three friends my age that went to the same church, or one of them would come to our home.
It was a regular Sunday afternoon child exchange. Folks like to rest on Sundays.
Well, ten miles away in Terrell, Texas..there used to be a very frequented and popular Mexican food place, and I went their with another family.
We all got sick. Every last one of us - the family of five, and I.
My friend - the one that was/is my own age - he'd never missed a day of school...ever. We were probably in about the seventh grade at that point.
Me? Any day in which I'd missed school those years was a good day, and if bad guacamole was the reason and I vomited my guts out - no matter, at least I didn't have to go to school :;
Thanks Kelly. I just came across this hub yesterday on fb.
Take care.
Yeah, Cholestrol in kids are really a great problem; Thank God, that you could find out the same, for your child in an earlier stage..
In India also, fried foods and Oily food is what is we consume often. But then the spices we use in cooking balances the same I think- like turmeric, chillies, curry leaves, garlic, Mustard oil, Moong Dal etc really helps in reducing it's effect
I know what you mean. My daughter became a vegetarian in middle school and soon after became a vegan. Why, i got a kick out of people's reactions! My two youngest are allergic to MSG, which is in a lot of frozen foods (and junk foods), so they skip a lot of stuff at parties such as cheez doodles, mozarella sticks and so on. I don't care what people say. They usually regret opening their mouth anyway. I am confrontational when it comes to my kids. It's my job to care for them to the best of my abilities, so they need to keep their useless dribble to themselves. LOL!
Great hub. Voted up, of course!
Hey Supermom - yeah I've definitely heard flack! There have been a few times when we would order dinner and the wait person would ask what Laurel wanted for a side dish - I specifically remember this one guy - she ordered broccoli - and he must have asked her 3 times "you sure you don't want the fries???" I wanted to stand up and scream "just give her the damn broccoli!" haha! I mean why not make her feel freakish for ordering something healthy. It is crazy how often stuff like that would occur. I know what you are saying! Thanks gosh I'm not the only one:) lol
Hi deepateresa - I worked with a friend who was from India - oh she would bring the best food for lunch! Her mother made her lunch (and she was like a 23 year old girl:) we used to love to share! I agree - I think the diet is very healthy and the pros outweigh the cons by far. Like - olive oil is good for you! So I'm just careful about not using vegetable oil and peanut oil - stuff like that is the worst.
Thanks so much!
I figured that Rajan Jolly - but I think I'm gonna rework this one a bit, now that I've learned so much more!
Wesman! I'd rather go to school than throw up! Gosh I'd just have pretended to throw up to get out of school:) lol you don't have to really BR sick to play hooky! Haha
So do you eat Mexican food now? How about guacamole? Lol. Thanks so much!
RealHousewife - I can hardly do without it. Most everything I make, and I do prepare all my own meals, and enjoy doing it - comes out with a Tex Mex slant to it, or is straight up "Mexican food" to begin with.
Oh I love Guacamole!!!!!!!!! It is really easy to make - and super wonderful.
I dunno how I could have ate bad Guac without knowing it - but of course I was a child at the time :;
Hi Wesman - Todd - Todd Wesman! lol I love Mexican food! I had chips and salsa tonight:) It is low fat! You can eat a bucket of it and not gain a pound:) lol
wordscribe43 Level 5 Commenter 15 months ago
Wow, what an eye opener! Who'd think a young child could have high cholesterol? Poor girl, I'm sorry she got so sick, but what a blessing in the end, huh? Gosh, I have 9 year old twins and an 11 1/2 year old. Makes me wonder... Thanks for sharing this important hub.