Death By Poppadom?🤣

 

I’m not one to feel sorry myself but the spiritual atmosphere of Nepal, the influence of Buddhism in these  majestic mountain area and the openness and kindness of the Sherpa people have made me stop and think about my new health developments and life in general. 

It does take you aback when you develop severe late onset food allergies out of the blue to something you’ve had a love affair all your life with, mine is food. I came to Nepal excited not only to see the Himalaya again (third time)  but to experience the food scene, since my host and good Sherpa friend is a cordon bleu chef and works in the industry. He was going to introduce me to the local group of chefs arriving from Europe who are creating fusion cooking with South Asian influences. That hasn’t been possible, unfortunately, with the of the breadth of my allergies much to my frustration.

These food allergyis not a disease but rather having an overactive immune system which views certain foods as an enemy and tries to shut down when you ingest them.  Normally, you discover an allergy at youth but the suddenness of experiencing this when you’re older is quite challenging. You’ve tasted, enjoyed, cooked and craved these foods all your life!  It’s not just nuts I love , but soya, the base of all oriental cooking with soya lecithin a binding agent in many processed foods and sauces. It’s peas and pea protein which is also in many prepared meats like sausages. It’s chickpeas and lentils, the heart of Indian and Middle Eastern cooking.  I’m erasing a large number of cuisines from my diet overnight which is almost soul destroying  

Right now I feel like I’m going through a food challenge in a foreign country with an unproven medical system but I’m very goal oriented so I decided to continue my journey by trying my best to be careful. Of course I underestimated  the situation a bit and now have ended up in 5 hospitals and clinics the last two plus weeks  Funnily enough, I’ve still managed to really enjoy myself. But thats who I am that’s how I have always lived my life, I look to squeak out what it can offer me at all times.  

What is it like to experience this food allergy reaction? Using an Everest analogy since I’m here, a meal with a TBD allergy range is like walking across a ladder through the icefall. Fortunately you have some meds that help, like a rope attachment that prevents you from falling into the oblivion of a crevasse, but the experience itself is truly frightening. First a quick tingling of the lips and scratchiness of the tongue as they swell, followed by difficulty swallowing and a sensation that you are rather quickly being choked to death by a rope  I end up shaking like a leaf after taking the meds and checking my vitals with my Apple Watch as I head off to the hospital for further observation in case it gets worse. I was shaking so much after eating a gyoza (momo here) that a young Australian man held my hand as I waited to be brought to the hospital. The kindness of strangers! 

So now I will be returning to London in a couple of days for more extensive medical testing and research. In my mind I’ll just have to change my view on food, from less experimental to the basic and high quality fare. It’s a challenge, socially, but friendships and social interaction are more important than an ailment.  Thank God I’m not allergic to wine as well! 

Experiencing accidents and numerous hospitalisations in the past seemed easy (I think I’ve had 14 general anaesthetics)  you just got better after rest, recovery and rehabilitation.  I’m very grateful it’s not a terminal illness and I can still embrace life’s experiences. Now that  food is no longer friendly, the focus should be shifted to other things like projects, stock markets, sport, discovery and exploration. Having near death experiences make you realise that there might not be enough time to satisfy your curiosity and love for learning. So grasp the bull by the horns and full speed ahead! Life is meant to be lived to the fullest and there isn’t a moment to waste.