Sarah Jessica Parker knows exactly what it’s like to leave her kids with the babysitter only to get a life-altering phone call while away.
Recalling the terrifying call she received when her son, James Wilkie was young, the actress explained, “[The babysitter said] his mouth was swelling, he was coughing and his ears were red.”
Speaking to Us Weekly, the 51-year-old revealed her son’s breathing became labored and his throat began to close.
The sitter then “rushed him to the pediatrician,” and that’s where Sarah and Matthew Broderick’s little boy James was diagnosed with life-threatening allergies to peanuts and hazelnuts. The condition is also known as anaphylaxis.
As she’ll never forget the frightening ordeal, Sarah Jessica Parker is now a spokesperson for the Anaphylaxis: For Reel campaign.
Today, James is 13, and big brother to 6-year-old twin sisters Marion and Tabitha. “He is clever, loves sports, asks smart and interesting questions and is a great storyteller,” his mother gushed.
And although anaphylaxis is still a concern, Sarah says he “knows how to inform those around him of his food allergies, so that everyone is aware and can help him avoid his allergic triggers.”
I’ve been tremendously lucky as a parent to have two children who have nothing more than general allergies (pet dander, dust mites, etc.), but reading about James’ throat closing up takes me right back to one of my earliest memories.
When I was about 6 my lips suddenly swelled up, and my parents had to rush me to the hospital half an hour away. While my mom was driving my dad, an operating room nurse, sat in the back with me. At one point I said in my tiny kid voice, “It’s getting harder to breathe. Am I going to die?” You better believe we ditched the original plan, and instead made haste for the nearest urgent care despite them not being part of our insurance program.
The odd thing is I don’t remember much of the instance after that, and I never found out what actually triggered the reaction. A handful of other times throughout my childhood my lips swelled again, although never to the same extent, and we never could pin down a cause. Still, I do know a little bit about the panic scary reactions can incite.
When has being a parent terrified you?
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A peek at James and his sweet little sisters:
