Ree Drummond is sharing details about a recent diagnosis her son-in-law received that came as a complete shock to their family.
The “Pioneer Woman” shared a blog post on her website on Wednesday, June 17, explaining the unexpected health news. She revealed that Mauricio, who is married to her daughter Alex, was told by doctors that he has Alpha-Gal syndrome.
“Hi, friends! I wanted to share something that happened in our family this week, partly because it’s been a bummer for a fella we all love, and partly because I’ve gone down a pretty deep rabbit hole over the past couple of days and I thought some of you might want to know about it, too,” Drummond wrote.
Alpha-Gall syndrome can develop after someone is bitten by a tick, according to the Mayo Clinic. In Mauricio’s case, he had found a lone star tick on him after a day of work on the family’s ranch. This type of tick can be identified by a small white dot on its back.
The condition is not considered life-threatening, thankfully. However, it can cause some pretty intense problems.
People with the medical condition usually become very sensitive to certain foods and can get very sick if they eat something that triggers an allergic reaction.
This is how the Drummond family discovered something was wrong with Mauricio.
How Mauricio Knew He Had Alpha-Gal Syndrome
Ree shared that she had heard of the illness before, but she never thought it would be something that would affect someone in her own family.
“I have heard about Alpha-Gal over the past couple of years, but like many things you hear about in passing, I haven’t given it much thought except that distant sense that it’s definitely not something anyone in my world would want to be afflicted with,” she said.
Mauricio’s symptoms began after he ate a burger for lunch at work one day. It didn’t take long for him to start experiencing a horrible stomach ache.
“Not just a little stomachache, but a burning kind of pain that he didn’t recognize. Alex says Mauricio isn’t usually dramatic about things like that, which made it stand out to her even more,” wrote Ree.
The family took it as a random occurrence because Mauricio felt fine the next day. But that Friday, after he and Alex had steak tacos for dinner, he felt the same stomach pains again.
Ree also noted that the final red flag came the following weekend while the family was celebrating Alex’s baby sprinkle, where barbecue and brisket were being served. After Mauricio ate some of the brisket and got sick once again, they realized there was likely something serious happening.
“At that point, one of Alex’s friends mentioned that it seemed like red meat was the culprit, and that’s when a light bulb went off for her,” Ree continued.
Maurico avoided red meat until he could see a doctor and figure out what was going on. After getting bloodwork done, he received his diagnosis.
“We were all immediately bummed for him! There were a lot of “NO WAYs” and a few four-letter words of disbelief,” Ree said. “There’s no other way to say it: Mauricio loves ribs, steaks, burgers, tacos, and all the things one would expect a person in our family to love, so again…we were all so bummed for him.”
She added, “Pork is also on the list of meat that trigger the allergy, so bacon, pork ribs, carnitas…all of those faves are out. The allergic reactions can range from stomach pain to hives to severe anaphylaxis, so it’s definitely considered a condition to take seriously.”
The Food Network star ended her post by calling Mauricio a “champ,” and reassured fans that, although the diagnosis may be a big adjustement for him, she’ll make sure he has plenty of yummy options available.
“Mauricio’s got all our love and support! (And all the chicken and fish tacos he could ever want.)”