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I never expected it to go this far. I never expected to launch an international crusade for our kids or for the New York Times to call me “food’s Erin Brockovich” or to appear on Good Morning America. And I certainly never expected my life to change abruptly and irrevocably over a plate of scrambled eggs. But that is exactly what happened one morning two years ago when I was serving my four kids breakfast.

It was an extraordinary morning in the sense that it was absolutely ordinary. You know the ones? Where the kids come screaming down the stairs and you’re not sure if the chaos is in the form of a game of chase, a favorite T-shirt that can’t be found or those mornings of glee when the kids are just happy to be up, having finally got a good night’s sleep. No matter. It was one of those mornings.

So, as I powered down a few cups of joe, I set to serving up breakfast to my four children, which that morning consisted of some Eggo waffles, tubes of blue yogurt and some scrambled eggs.

As I did each morning, I pretty much drove a groove into the floor with the constant trips back and forth across the kitchen, serving up food.

As I passed by my baby’s highchair, I decided to slip a few spoonfuls of scrambled eggs onto her tray. My older three loved scrambled eggs, so I figured my littlest one would, too. But she didn’t really seem interested and fussed and pushed them away.

As I cleaned up the mess, still unsure how the blue yogurt had found its way to the ceiling, I noticed that my baby seemed tired. And since she was only 9 months old at the time, I took her upstairs to put her down for her morning nap.

I don’t know what made me check on her that morning. She was my fourth child, I knew to let sleeping babies lie. But a few minutes later, in an act that can only be defined as Mama Instinct, I went upstairs to check on her.

I lost my breath the minute I walked into her bedroom. Her face was swollen shut. As I grabbed her from her crib, I was stunned at the thing that I held in my arms. And I went screaming downstairs, calling out to the older children, asking if they had put something in her face, in her crib, in her eyes.

All I got were those blank little kid stares. You know the ones? That let you see straight down into your children’s soul? The ones so full of innocence and honesty that you have no doubt. And at that point, I got really scared, because my older children had no idea what I was talking about.

I turned back to my baby, whose face was swollen, red and angry and whose eyes had been reduced to slits in her face. My God. What had happened to her?

I called the pediatrician in a complete panic, and she told me to come in immediately that it sounded like an allergic reaction. What the hell? None of my older kids had ever done this. It was eggs. And hadn’t I rolled my eyes at the mothers who spoke of their children’s allergies? What was happening?

I felt completely out of control, unable to protect my baby from something as normal as food. What kind of mother was I?

Little did I know what that day and that diagnosis would bring.

I began to learn about food allergies, what causes them, and how they are indicators for other childhood conditions. But no one told me how to protect my child, to prevent any of this. If a condition had been specifically designed to drive a mother crazy, this was it. How could something as intimate as food pose such a threat? Little did I know, that on that day, the world that I had always known began to slip away. As I continued to learn about this “American epidemic”, I learned about the proteins in foods that threaten a child’s immune system. As I tried to create awareness of my child’s condition, in my attempt to protect her health, I learned something else. I learned how to start a company, file patents and meet with lawyers, all while holding a diaper bag, a sippy cup, and a baby on my hip. As I grew my business, I found remarkable support, from CNN, ABC National News and other TV shows, but at the same time, I found remarkable opposition from the most unlikely organizations, the food allergy world.

And I found myself.

Armed with an MBA and a background in research and finance, I unearthed a story that would change my life. Food allergy research had been funded by chemical companies responsible for engineering novel proteins and allergens into our food supply. Proteins designed to increase the profitability of crops. Proteins either banned or labeled in children’s foods around the world. Proteins never before tested for their safety on children. Proteins that appeared to have created the allergy epidemic.

As I continued to unearth this remarkable research, research that mothers in Europe, Japan , Australia and even Russia, already knew, I sat stunned, almost paralyzed. Though with four small children, paralysis was not an option. And in those desperate moments, I heard my call to action. If our government and corporate interests had failed to protect the health of our children, while protecting the profit of the chemical companies, then it would be up to me – up to all of us – to protect the American kids.

And so my crusade began. It has been a remarkable journey. There were days, weeks, even months, when I could hardly take another step forward. Crushed and almost crippled by the research that I continued to unearth. But then there were days, weeks and months when the wind came under my wings, blown in by Erin Brockovich, Nell Newman or Robert F Kennedy and other inspiring individuals who not only believed my story but helped me to move it forward. And with four small children, I had no option by to move forward. Some days they were baby steps. Some days they were leaps of faith. Some days they were steps backward. But as I looked at my children, I continued to move, as they deserved nothing less.

And today, I stand in awe of what we are able to accomplish, as women. There is nothing more powerful than the Mama Instinct of a mother protecting her child. There is nothing more pure than a heart so moved by love that it can accomplish what otherwise might seem impossible. We all have that heart in us. And if you listen to yours, you will hear your call to action.

And if you are inspired to protect the health of your children, the way that mothers around the world are able to protect their little ones, then please consider visiting www.allergykids.com to learn more.

We are the voices for our children, you and I, all of us. Together, we have a remarkable story to tell. I have shared mine, when will you share yours?

According to the New York Times, Robyn O’Brien is “food’s Erin Brockovich”. Robyn is the founder of AllergyKids, an organization she launched on Mothers’ Day 2006 to protect the 1 in 3 American children that now has allergies, ADHD, autism or asthma. She has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America and CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and lives in Boulder , Colorado with her husband and four children. She loves the inspiration found in passionate hearts and invites you to learn more about how to protect your family at www.allergykids.com.