“There were so many things she couldn’t eat. Godwin, MD, helped Checa manage Princess’s condition – first by identifying foods that produced her EoE symptoms including milk, soy, legumes, peanuts, tree nuts, peaches, seafood, shellfish, plantains, bananas, corn and leeks – then by eliminating them from her diet and finding nutritional alternatives. In 2006, CHOP created the Center for Pediatric Eosinophilic Disorders to diagnose and treat children with this condition.ĭoctors including Terri F. Thirty years ago, EoE was unknown, but diagnoses have risen dramatically in the past decade. I blamed myself for not getting her help sooner.” “When I heard that, I felt like my world stopped,” Checa says. Learn about its symptoms and how it's treated. Physicians in CHOP’s Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition performed additional testing and diagnosed Princess with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a rare and relatively unknown chronic inflammatory disease of the esophagus, the muscular tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach.Įosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic allergic inflammatory disease of the esophagus. She’d had a previous positive experience at CHOP and felt staff would “listen to me and my concerns.” I had no idea then it was going to turn into what it is now.” Finding answers at CHOPĬheca brought Princess to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for help and answers. “I really felt like it was more than allergies,” Checa says. Still, Checa wasn’t convinced food allergies were completely to blame for Princess’ symptoms. I rushed her to the ER, where they gave her epinephrine and the ER doctor recommended we see an allergist.”Ī visit to a local allergist confirmed what the ER doctor suspected: Princess was allergic to a slew of common food items including milk, egg, soy and more. “Her face was swollen, and one eye was nearly completely closed. “When I arrived to pick Princess up, she looked like a monster,” Checa said. The babysitter made mac and cheese and offered it to Princess, who liked it and ate it. At 18 months old, Princess could only tolerate a handful of foods including sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and some cereals.Īn incident at a babysitter’s house convinced Checa she couldn’t handle her daughter’s issue alone. Despite the careful and slow way Checa introduced individual foods to Princess, the baby reacted negatively to most new foods – sometimes breaking out in hives, other times vomiting. When it was time to transition Princess to solid foods, her mother Checa encountered more challenges. Finally, Princess began to gain weight and started to meet early developmental milestones with a specialized milk formula alternative.

Princess has struggled with food allergies since she was an infant, developing symptoms to her mother’s breast milk and traditional formulas.

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