Shrimp is back on the menu

I cannot begin to describe how good it feels to have finally outgrown an allergy. To be honest, I thought I was be

yond that stage, and that the cards dealt were here to stay.

Fortunately, my immune system has a sense of humor, even if the punchline hit 18 years late.

The last time I tried shrimp was in 2019, during which I pushed the limits of 4 bites before going into anaphylactic shock.... Understandably, I wanted nothing to do with shrimp after that incident. I still went in every year to do blood work and check if the reactivity was still present, and year after year, the results always came back positive.

To any parents reading, THIS IS YOUR SIGN TO EXPOSE your children to the substances they are allergic to, however tiny the amounts might be. DO NOT completely abstain, as, at least in my case, this only elevated the already hypersensitive immune system of an allergy patient.

My parents were justifiably terrified at the idea of experimenting with shrimp again, but I was only to eager to taste test. My dad had cooked up some Chilli Shrimp for my mom's birthday, and this particular iteration smelled EXTRA yummy. Now out of all people, I am LEAST swayed by the olfactory senses when it comes to food, as I have bigger fish to fry (pun FULLY intended), namely, the matter of life and death. That being said, every now and then I get bursts of courage to see if I can sneak a bite of something, just to see if anything has changed. People who live this life understand exactly what I mean :) And my curiosity was, at long last, vindicated.

I began with a single piece..... no reaction (?!?)

When my mom wasn't looking, I scarfed down two more..... delicious, but I felt a scratchy feeling on my tongue (?).... nevermind it was just a red chilli....

Between large gulps of water and awkward moments of pensive silence, after 30 long minutes, 21 shrimp tails lied at the base of my plate.

For me, this wasn't just about trying a new delicacy. It was the first time I had ever seen significant improvement in any of my 9 deadly food allergies. This wasn't just an increase in tolerance level. Further testing proved that I had completely outgrown this allergy! Out of all 9, shrimp was the one I least expected to overcome, as it was the only one for which I had hereditary links to trace it back to. My grandfather was the only other person in my family with a food allergy, and his was shrimp.

This just goes to show once again how complicated and idiopathic the etiology of this strange condition truly is. IN ANY CASE, I am so glad that the randomness has finally turned in my favor! One down, 8 more to go :)