This season is a season to be thankful -- Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, and a New Year on the horizon. I would love to say that Little Man had outgrown his FPIES or at least advanced his diet beyond his dozen foods but that is not God's will at this time. However, God gives us the graces to get through our trials and He never breaks His promises to provide. "Give us this Day or Daily Bread" is not just a line in a prayer, it is a promise from Above. A promise that He will provide. God has provided our family in so many countless ways, some I have recorded either here or shared in other places, some I hold simply in my heart but not a day goes by that His graces are not showered upon us through any struggles that are sent our way.
One such powerful and life changing grace has been the pork Sam has had 'safe' for 2 years now. A farmer referred to me from a friend as someone who cared for her animals and raised them naturally, not feeding them corn or soy. A farmer I picked up the phone and explained Little Man's sensitive allergy to and who took the time to explain every step of the process from raising the hogs to interviewing the butcher in how the meat is processed. A farmer who I have visited right at her farm and who Little Man has met. The Farmer who makes sure before all her meat is sold, that there will be enough for Little Man. A farmer who cares. This pork, pureed into a liquid enough to go through his feeding tube, has been instrumental to his thriving, his not needing a hospital stay since his feeding tube was placed, his getting to be a boy discovering the world at the pace of any other 5 year old, not disrupted by frequent doctor visits, hospital stays, sick days and therapies. He still has reactions to foods, symptoms from other foods, still needs to avoid more foods than he can safely eat; but we are so thankful for how far he has come and for each and every one of the few foods he does have to provide the nutrition he needs to grow and thrive. One of those foods being the pork from this farmer.
God Bless the Farmer.
To see more about Little Man's story and Traeger Hills Ranch, watch this video I created last year as a tribute to this farmer:
