What If's

Today I sent Katie off with her dad for a week. We have been divorced for 6 years and he lives about 3 hours away. Even though we have been through this dozens of times, I still get nervous. What if she has a reaction and I can't be with her? What if he forgets to read a label? What if he takes her somewhere and forgets the Epi-pen?

I have to put my trust in God that He will take care of her. I know I may offend some by professing my faith, but if I didn't trust that God will protect Katie, I would be a nervous wreck for the next week!!!

On a sidenote, I am still looking for people to form a support group in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

I would love to hear from you!!!

Angel Service Dogs

Angel Service Dogs is an organization that raises and trains dogs to detect a certain allergen in any form (i.e. oil, raw, cooked, airborne). I have not had any personal experience with these dogs, but I think that it is a wonderful idea and I can't wait to see how this area of service dogs grows!!! Has anyone had any personal experiences with service dogs for food allergies? I would love to hear from you!!!

For those of you not familiar with this organization, you can find them at http://www.angelservicedogs.com/ or visit them at the Thrive Allergy Expo in Chicago on April 18th and 19th.

New Food Allergy Research!!!

Check out this article about the new research the EPA and Mount Sinai are doing!

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/e4e6fe296efb8cb2852575980063775f?OpenDocument

New iPhone application

New iPhone application for those who have food allergies and travel to other countries! Read the full article at the LA Times at http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/new-iphone-applicati-4352/.

Have a safe day!!!

Food Allergy Fun Fair!!!

I know that it seems far away, but on June 13th I will be hosting a Food Allergy Fun Fair at the United Methodist Church of Lenox, 6 Holmes Road, Lenox, MA, 01240 on June 13th @11AM.

Please come and meet me, find out some information, and visit with others!!! Terry "A La Berry" and his band will be perfoming children's music!!! Donations of time, money, and items needed!!! Please contact me at foodallergyedu@yahoo.com or stop by my website and contact me!!!

One other thing...please commnent and let me know what YOU would like to see at this event, on this blog, and on my website. I am still new at all this and would love your input!!!

Thanks!!!

FREE!!!

Special deal for all businesses, restaurants, community groups, schools, etc. I am offering a FREE 1/2 hour consultation to discuss what options I have available to help promote food allergy awareness and education in your workplace. Visit my website at http://www.berkshirefacs.org and fill out the "Contact Us" section and mention code "MC02" in the "Comments" field.

Let's work together to increase public knowledge and acceptance of food allergies!!!

Food Allergy Education

OK...let me tell you a bit about what I do as well as plan to do. My vision is to go into schools, day cares, and restaurants and provide training workshops to principals, teachers, teaching assistants, cafeteria staff, bus drivers, managers, waitstaff, etc. I am also interested in providing support to parents and families, and participate in community events to raise awareness of food allergies in Berkshire County, MA.

Last year I received a grant through Early Intervention which enabled me to purchase all the training programs produced by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. I have also received training materials from Epi-Pen & Twinject, as well as developed my own training materials and program.

I am also in putting together a support group in the Lenox, MA area. If anyone is interested, please leave a comment here. I will be in touch with you when I have at least 5 interested people.

My hope is that with the increase of food allergy awareness and education, those with food allergies will be accepted in society and reasonable accomodations will be made for those with life-threatening food allergies, just like those with other life-threatening conditions.

Support Groups

I have not been involved with a support group because the closest one is over 2 hours away. Do you belong to a support group? How far do you travel? How often do you meet? I am asking these questions because I am interested in starting a support group in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. If anyone is interested in helping out or joining a support group, please let me know. Have you had a wonderful (or horrible) experience with a support group? Please feel free to share your opinions. As I have said before, we are all in this together, and we need to support and encourage each other in this adventure.