Back to School!!!

Well, the kids just finished day 3 of school for this new school year. I sent Katie in with a fresh Epi-pen 2 pack and Benadryl for the school nurse, and an Epi-pen and Benadryl for her backpack (mostly in case something happens on the bus ride to or from school). I am extremely fortunate to live in a small school district with:

• Peanut free and Tree-Nut free cafeteria
• Peanut/Tree Nut free tables in the cafeteria (kids can bring their own pb&j from home)
• Full time nurse
• Epi-pen training for teachers and staff
• Peanut-Free classrooms

Katie has been attending this school for 4 years-this is her 5th year-and has bought hot lunch for almost every day, and has NEVER had a reaction in school. Our school has an automated phone call system for the parents and on the day before school started, the principal "called" and reminded everyone about the food allergy policies at the school. The individual teachers send home a letter to all parents if there is a child with a food allergy in the classroom. There is a no-food policy for birthdays-the school celebrates each month in the cafeteria and all the birthday kids for the month get to sit on the stage and get a peanut-free nut-free ice cream cup.

I really hate to brag about stuff, but I really love the policies set in place by our elementary school and feel completely safe sending Katie there every day.

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.

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!!!

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.

Bread

Ok. For those of you who don't have food allergies, this may seem like a strange post. When we went out to eat tonight, I inquired about the food. Because Katie has a severe Peanut Allergy, I ask about ingredients, how they cook stuff, etc. I told them what she wanted to order and asked if there was any Peanut Oil or cross contamination issues that we should worry about. There was a question about the rolls. She said that the rolls come in a big box and they don't keep the box-they just throw it out.

Now, my feelings. In this day and age, when food allergies are in the news, why don't they hang on to the labels at least for customers that have questions about the ingredients?

Our family's motto is "If you can't read it, we don't eat it". In case you are wondering, we opted to not even bring the rolls to the table.