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Food for Thought

Ten-year-old Paige Cassidy has to eat her school lunch all by herself. But at her Noblesville, Ind., home, she has a furry, four-legged friend who knows exactly what she's going through.

Paige has food allergies so severe that even minimal contact with certain ingredients can be life-threatening. For years, physicians at Riley Hospital for Children have worked with Paige and her family to keep the allergic reactions under control. Even a whiff of peanut butter, for example, can send Paige into anaphylactic shock requiring emergency treatment with epinephrine.

Her parents must take extreme precautions whenever their child eats outside the home. That's why on school days, Paige eats her own carefully prepared lunch not in the boisterous cafeteria with the other kids, but in a quiet, separate room. Her mother usually comes to school to keep her company, and sometimes Paige is joined by a friend.

Paige's food allergies can trigger unbearable itching and acute breathing problems. So, when one of the family dogs began experiencing similar symptoms, it didn't take the family long to figure out why.

"Sprout is usually just laid back. That's what I like best about her," Paige said. "But we noticed that whenever we would feed her beef, she would get all itchy and always have ear infections."

It turned out that Sprout, a 2-year-old Maltese, had food allergies, too. Suddenly, the little girl who often felt so distant from her friends had a companion in her troubles.

"I felt like I wasn't so alone," Paige said.

After she learned of Sprout's condition, Paige went from carefully monitoring her own food to also keeping an eye out for beef and dairy in dog food. Sprout went on a diet of all-natural dog food. To compensate, Paige and her sister Claire had an idea for making dog food fun for Sprout.

"We made a doggie restaurant one day. We put dog food in lots of little bowls and mixed it with water to make this mushy, gushy soup," Paige said. "When my mom saw it, we kind of got in trouble for wasting all that dog food. So Mom suggested a dog bakery instead."

Paige and a friend soon got to work in her mother's kitchen. "We used ingredients from home," she said as she explained the process of creating five varieties of dog biscuits. "We shaped the mixtures with our hands - one kind was little balls, one was squares, and another one was miniature oatmeal cookies. Then we baked them in the oven."

With a real marketing flair, Paige named the biscuits Cinnamon Oaties, Chicken Puffs, Veggie Bites, BBQ Ribs and Carob-Dipped Rawhide, then packaged them in plastic bags inside boxes the girls decorated with paw prints. She even named the enterprise. "My mom thought of a five-star restaurant, so my little business was called Paige's Five Paw Bakery," she said. This budding entrepreneur took the biscuits to the Hamilton Southeastern Craft Fair last fall. She earned about $200 from sales - and donated it all to Riley Hospital.

"People bought them because I put up a sign that said all the proceeds would be donated to Riley," Paige said. "I thought it would be nice to donate the money to somebody who has helped me so much."

It's not the first time this youngster has shown such spirit and determination. When she was 6 years old, only paramedics could administer epinephrine, the lifesaving medicine that must be given immediately to a person in anaphylactic shock from allergies. Since few ambulances and medical teams in the state are staffed with paramedics, thousands of Hoosiers like Paige were at risk.

Paige decided to share her story in person with state lawmakers. As a result of her testimony, the Indiana Legislature passed Paige Cassidy's Law in 2000. Now, all levels of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in Indiana can legally administer epinephrine. Thanks to an unselfish little girl who doesn't want others to suffer, Hoosiers can live in a little less fear. And Sprout can go back to being Paige's laid-back, furry friend.

Now 10 years old, Paige visits Dr. Fred Leickly at Riley Hospital for Children twice a year to test her lung functions for asthma and once a year for blood draws to test her allergies. After suffering from an allergic reaction during a routine exam at her family dentist, Paige also now visits Riley Hospital's dental clinic.

Having a law named after her is only one of Paige's many accomplishments. She plays piano, takes dance lessons, holds a black belt in karate and maintains straight As in her school's gifted and talented program. Speaking to a large audience of adults is getting to be second nature for Paige. She recently addressed hundreds of employees during the Riley Children's Foundation's Wal-Mart Appreciation Luncheon.

"The guests were amazed with Paige's poise and presence," said Jennifer Thomas of Riley Children's Foundation, who was in the audience. "Her speech, which she wrote herself, was very heartfelt and enthusiastic." And bringing everything full circle, a Wal-Mart employee went to Paige after the luncheon to share how Paige Cassidy's Law saved her brother's life.

US News - America's Best Children's Hospitals 2008

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