Alayna Johnston Lanie Johnston

8 weeks ago Lanie had a traumatic experience when she choked on a cough drop. Since that day Lanie has slowly been eliminating the foods that she would eat from her daily diet for fear of choking again. We went from solid  food, to soft foods, to a liquid, squeezable diet. Most recently Lanie hasn't had much of an appetite, and would say she wasn't hungry or that her stomach hurt and was skipping meals at school and at home.


If you know Lanie,  you know she loves to eat her favorite foods and would have had several helpings when she was hungry. In the last few weeks we can't get Lanie to eat a yogurt, or even put food in her mouth. When the thought or idea of eating is mentioned, she makes herself sick to her stomach, or gets upset at the idea of having to eat. This has resulted in a pretty dramatic weight loss, mood swings,  and Lanie just not being her happy, sweet loving self. 


We have been seeking help for her since this all began, and we were aware of the situation and how things were not progressing in a positive way. We met with her pediatrician, her Cleft-Craniofacial Team at Cardinal Glennon, and also an Occupational Therapist at Sensory Solutions. Our last direction was given by her pediatrician who advised us to take her to the ER.