In an article headlined, “It’s Just Nuts,” writer Patricia Pearson builds a case around her opinion that school accommodations for food allergies, particularly restrictions on peanut products, are nothing but a panic-driven, unnecessary over-reaction.

As a special education assistant and the mother of an child with anaphylaxis, I cannot let Ms. Pearson’s article go unchallenged. It contains too many incorrect conclusions that could impact whether an important health issue is taken seriously. It leaves Chatelaine readers questioning what is right and what is reasonable. It portrays the parents of kids with allergies as fearful and neurotic, when in fact,  we are asking for accommodations that medical professionals and school boards have deemed appropriate.

Chatelaine’s article ignores that the inclusive, community approach to protecting children with serious food allergies has been a vast improvement, and is working well. What can be difficult to grasp, is that the steep rise in food allergies is a new phenomenon. Researchers tell us that between 6 and 8 per cent of kids have now have food allergies. Conservatively, that’s the equivalent of half the population of New Brunswick. They live with the unpredictable risk of anaphylaxis, the serious form of allergic reaction that can cause shock, suffocation and heart attack in a frighteningly short period of time. There have been cases of brain damage and, tragically, even death.

It is the fast and severe nature of such reactions, combined with the fast-growing incidence food allergies and the need for total avoidance of a food allergen that have led to precautions in our schools.

Ms. Pearson fails to understand that such measures are not about inconveniencing her by depriving her son of peanut butter for one meal of the day. It’s about protecting children from anaphylaxis, no matter what food is involved. She belittles the low number of deaths from anaphylaxis, without realizing that it is exactly due to the approach of taking precautions rather than letting allergic emergencies happen that protects our kids from becoming statistics. Not that there haven’t been tragedies. It’s curious that in all her talk about schools and allergies, Ms. Pearson never mentions Sabrina Shannon. In 2003, at the age of 13, following a devastating anaphylactic reaction to an inadvertent exposure to cheese curds in her cafeteria (she was milk allergic), Sabrina died. It’s hard to believe that Chatelaine’s writer wouldn’t have come across Sabrina’s story in her research. When Ontario created the world’s first legislation mandating risk-reduction measures and emergency training to protect students with food allergies in their schools, it was named “Sabrina’s Law” in remembrance.

Even if anaphylaxis never caused death, the need to minimize reactions would still be of paramount importance. A reaction is terrifying, excruciating and stresses the body. It is also traumatic for school staff and other children to witness. Is a sandwich worth that risk?

In 2007, I was part of a committee in British Columbia that developed the Education Minister’s directive to the province’s schools about food allergies. In order to understand the scope of the issue, the government requested that school districts complete a survey on anaphylactic policies and incidents from 2005 onward. Almost half the districts that responded had experienced one or more anaphylactic reaction serious enough to warrant the filing of a critical incidence report. The anaphylaxis management policies pre-dating the directive ranged from non-existent to minimal to comprehensive – a far cry from the careful, commonsense approaches that Ms. Pearson claims were in evidence.

Regulations surrounding food allergy are based on education and awareness, stressing training for school staff, access to epinephrine auto-injectors, strategies to reduce the risk of reaction and communication with the school community. Each plan for each child is unique, reflecting the child’s needs and the school’s environment. Hand-washing, lunchroom seating, and cleaning practices are all examples of appropriate risk-reduction measures. But there is no escaping it – children like Ms. Pearson’s son are being asked to “please enjoy your peanut butter sandwich at home”.

Peanut butter is sticky, hard to clean, and ends up smeared over shared school supplies, toys and playground equipment. One teacher with a class of 20 little kids cannot possibly be expected to manage the risk. My 12-year-old son has had three accidental exposures to peanut since his diagnosis. Two occurred at his school when he was 6 years old. Young children cannot be expected to protect themselves without support. Peanut often causes serious reactions with a very small amount of protein, and it’s over-represented as a cause of fatalities when compared to other allergens.

While Ms. Pearson dismisses the fact that a new study finds slightly less than 2 per cent of Canadian kids have peanut allergy, she ignores that this is one of the highest rates in the Western world. Further, I would argue that the welfare of about 90,000 kids is worth bothering about.

I spend most of my days in a classroom and have never met a child who did not want to help keep kids with allergies safe once they understood the issue. I find that rational explanations almost always turn hostile parents of non-allergic pupils into cooperative supporters. Ms. Pearson is an exception, and that Chatelaine would publish such a distorted view is truly disturbing. My hope is that children at risk of anaphylaxis gain support and understanding in the community at large. They certainly didn’t find either in the pages of Chatelaine.

Pamela Lee lives in Vancouver. She is a special education assistant and an associate editor of Allergic Livingmagazine. She originally submitted a first draft of this article to Chatelaine to consider publishing. The magazine’s editor rejected the piece, replying that “there are no plans to publish a rebuttal article.”

Related Reading
• Can this be Chatelaine? by Gwen Smith
• Food Allergy Backlash – Why Is It Occurring?

I am very proud, honoured and humbled by the success of Sabrina’s Law at the 5th anniversary of its passage in Ontario. We live in a good world where something like Sabrina’s Law comes out of such tragedy. It is truly remarkable.

I feel Sabrina is proud of the law that’s named after her to protect anaphylactic students. I can’t be sure, of course, but it is a feeling I have: that she is very much alive, that she lives on through Sabrina’s Law. I am awed by all the allergy accommodation achievements that have happened because of Sabrina’s Law; it is truly amazing to witness results throughout the world.

It is also such great news about Sabrina’s scholarship that Anaphylaxis Canada has started. Sabrina would have been going to university now. She would have been 20 years old on May 29. It is like she growing up with the development of the scholarship. She will be going university through “her” scholarship and supporting other students’ potential. She will be part of their university or college experience. This makes me very proud.

Thank you, Gwen [Allergic Living’s editor], for taking time to write about my beautiful Sabrina. Or should I say, “Our Sabrina”. Our Sabrina, since Sabrina Law’s is for everyone. – Sara Shannon, Pembroke, Ontario

Related Reading:

• Sabrina’s ‘A Nutty Tale’ documentary.
• Sabrina’s Law at 5 Years Old.
• Sabrina’s Law Resources: School Allergy Laws and Policies.
• Our award-winning Sabrina’s Story.
• Sara Shannon’s Journey.

We’re the people you may have heard about in the news. On February 15, we got tossed off a Mexicana Airlines flight simply because I’d asked that the attendants not serve peanuts. I’m at risk of anaphylaxis to both peanuts and tree nuts, and distributing peanuts throughout an airplane could be dangerous to me. When I finally got home to Calgary, I complained to the media about the poor treatment that my children and I received while waiting for Mexicana to decide –over several hours – what to do with us. CBC-TV ran a news item, then posted my story online. The fallout has come as a complete shock.

There are now over 800 mostly vitriolic replies. Some people have wished I would choke on a peanut and die; I am getting hate mail at my home. I have been saddened and disturbed by the response of fellow citizens. They clearly don’t comprehend the seriousness of anaphylaxis. From the airline to online, I’ve been treated like a troublemaker. I’m actually anything but. I just happen to have a medical condition that requires the consideration of others.

I also feel my “real” story isn’t out there. So here, for the record is my recent travel experience as an allergic individual:

I BOOKED A FLIGHT to Mexico for myself and my two kids, aged 8 and 3 years old. I informed the booking agents that I have life-threatening allergies to peanuts and requested, in advance as I always have, that no peanuts be served on my flight. I was then told that to have this happen I should speak directly to the Mexicana flight staff upon boarding. As it was explained, there isn’t a real communication process that’s used to let the booking agents inform the flight attendants of this issue. And even if there was, I was told, it could get lost and besides, ultimately, it’s the flight attendants who are in charge of serving – and not serving – peanuts on a flight.

So my family and I board in Calgary to fly down to Puerto Vallarta on February 4. I ask the flight attendants as soon as we got on to please not serve peanuts. I’ve successfully made such a request many times on previous flights. These attendants did look a little confused by my request, but then said: “No problem, we can understand your situation.” We all get down to Puerto Vallarta safely and comfortably.

My family has a great two weeks in Mexico. On February 15, we get to the airport to leave to go home. We have a short flight from Puerto Vallarta to Mexico City and then are to continue on from there to Calgary. My children and I board the plane, get to our seats. I tell a flight attendant right away that I am deathly allergic to peanuts and ask that for this 11/2-hour flight that they please not serve them. Mexicana crew all begin to tell me that it is their “right” to serve peanuts. I tell them that there is a possibility of me not being able to breathe.

More staff come by to tell me that they “have to” serve the peanuts. They offer me a seat at the back of the plane. I don’t think they realize that the entire plane will eat the peanuts – so it’s not a solution for me to be stuffed in the back, behind all the peanut-eating. This situation has now delayed the plane about 15-20 minutes. So a Mexican lady stands up in the middle of the plane and explains in Spanish my situation to the rest of the passengers. Then the flight attendant explains in English what my situation is. Passengers start saying to just not serve them the peanuts! One man yells out: “I can live without peanuts for an hour!”

So the flight staff all nod their heads and everyone is ready to go. Then the pilot makes the decision to ask my son, daughter and me to leave the plane. A lady behind me starts yelling that I am not listening to the staff about going to the back of the plane.

“I am waiting for them to tell me what
I have to do when a staff member yells
at me to get away from the plane.”

At this point, my children start to cry because there is a lady yelling at us and we are very rudely asked to get off the flight. So I pack up and we walk out of the plane. I am waiting for them to tell me what I have to do when a staff member yells at me to get away from the plane. We walk into the terminal and sit down on the floor in a lump, crying. The plane sits there for another 15 to 20 minutes while they rummage through the baggage hold for our bags. I’m sure people are missing connecting flights.

A staff member finally instructs us to go back to the check-in counter to see if there is another flight. We stand at the counter for an hour as agents are supposed to be trying to get us on a flight. Not one person from the airline speaks to us.

I finally demand to speak to the supervisor. Another 30 minutes later, an agent says Mexicana has booked us on a flight the next day – but they are not sure if the airline will fly us home because they “have to” serve the peanuts. We go to a hotel and an airline representative calls the room. They’ve switched us to another airline, but I’m told I have to get a letter from the doctor in Mexico by the morning explaining that I have a peanut allergy. How am I going to go to a doctor in Mexico in the next 10 hours, and how will he even know that I have an allergy? I told the representative this was a ridiculous request. She said she just wanted me to know I might have issues again without a medical note.

At no time during this entire situation did one person tell me they wanted to help me and my children, or that they were sorry this was happening. It felt like I was a criminal. My kids and I had to spend another night in Puerto Vallarta and the next day Mexicana got us on an American Airlines and we got home.

I’m not sure what is going to happen in regards to peanuts on airplanes. Many airlines that claim not to serve peanuts still offer mixed nuts bags for sale. I am deathly allergic to all peanuts and tree nuts – so this is a huge concern for me as someone who wants to be able to travel.

“I have never realized that I am hated
by a large part of the population”

I have had enough of this peanut issue and people’s “right to have their peanuts.” I am not asking that the plane be fumigated, or that the seats need to be shampooed. I am just asking that the packages of peanuts that are sitting in a small box are just not served on a particular flight. Here’s a thought: hand the customers their package of peanuts when they leave the plane … so they don’t miss out.

It hurt so much that total strangers were yelling at me and my children. After the abuse I’ve taken on the CBC site, I’m actually scared to tell anyone again that I am allergic to peanuts and nuts. I will now be very careful who I tell and who I don’t tell.

I have never realized that I am hated by a large part of the population – until I read those comments. There were a couple of days that I was waiting for a jar of peanut butter to be thrown through my window at home.

Having a peanut allergy is not a choice! We are born with it. Those of us with allergies don’t deserve to be subjected to hate mail and having people hate us because we are different.

I will fly again on an airplane again that doesn’t serve peanuts. But I will always remember the way that I was treated, the way I was made to feel. I do wish everyone here the best of luck dealing with their food allergies. Keep advocating because, there’s clearly a long way to go.

When I read accounts in the past of children who died because the EpiPen wasn’t given immediately, I silently wondered how that could happen. Why would anyone hesitate? After all, it’s easy to use, it barely hurts, it does no harm if used when not needed (caution is advised for certain heart conditions), it helps severe asthma attacks, it can save a life. Now I understand. Now, we have our own tales of near misses to share, causing people to look at us the same way.

Our son has asthma. Each time he was exposed to an allergen in the past, he had a sudden, severe asthma attack. Mind you, those exposures were mostly caused by his allergens being cooked in the same room, not by ingestion. The two times he got a sip of milk as an infant, he also threw up violently and immediately. Each of those reactions was turned around with antihistamines and albuterol.

When he was 7, a cheese slice touched his food. He didn’t eat the cheese slice – it just touched his food. Sudden asthma attack. Albuterol and antihistamines barely made a dent this time. We rushed him to the doctor where he was given a shot of epinephrine and steroids. We had an EpiPen with us – we didn’t use it because we were looking for more than asthma. Big mistake. We were lucky his symptoms turned around.

Flash forward five years, with no reactions in-between. In the back of our minds, we were silently wondering if he might be outgrowing his allergies. He outgrew several by age 5; maybe the allergy tests were wrong? That turned out to be wishful thinking. A few months ago, we gave our son a new product that was dairy/egg/peanut free, or so the ingredients indicated. He took a few bites, and then left the room. Being the paranoid, overprotective, cautious type, I followed him. He took a few sips of water, and complained that his throat was bothering him. So was his stomach. That was all, nothing more. No asthma, no noticeable swelling, no throwing up.

I had that nervous feeling that only a parent raising a child with food allergies can understand – it’s sickening. I reread the label on the product about a dozen times – no allergens. But he was not behaving right. Where was his asthma? It had always been our early warning sign, but this time, his symptoms were different. So, being an educated person, I gave him the EpiPen anyway, right? Wrong. But we did take him to the ER.

At the hospital, they looked at me like I had a second head. The child didn’t appear to be in much distress, no asthma, blood pressure was fine, a bit of throat stridor, and he was moaning and sighing and his voice was funny. I handed them a copy of his emergency allergy plan, and explained our history.

So they gave him epinephrine immediately, right? Wrong again. Although I asked them to several times. (Where was my parenting skill? Why didn’t I just give him the shot I had in my purse?!) They took our son in the back where some doctors and nurses surrounded him and stared at him, pondering their next move.

Suddenly, our child’s symptoms exploded. He threw up violently, filling five containers, getting it all over him and a few of those around him. His throat closed. They ran for the EpiPen, and injected him immediately. They put in IV’s and started steroids, more epinephrine, and antihistamines. He was traumatized, but his symptoms improved and he fell asleep while we stayed there for hours, monitoring him.

We contacted the manufacturer later, to find out what might have been in the food that wasn’t on the label. They happily told us their plant was peanut-free. Yes, but what about dairy or egg? “No, no, we’re dairy-free too.” Egg? “Oh, egg is everywhere. High probability there was egg cross contamination. Is that a problem?” Unfortunately, yes, since our son is severely allergic to eggs. It seems that many people, including some manufacturers, don’t understand that other food allergies can be just as severe as peanut. That takes us to last (American) Thanksgiving. The extended family was gathered around eating dinner. My son took a few bites, got a funny look on his face, and said he wasn’t hungry. That nervous feeling started to grip my stomach … not again! We excused ourselves from the table, since he is now at that age where he is private, and doesn’t want a fuss. He said his throat felt funny, but he only ate some corn and potatoes. I ran into the kitchen and rechecked all the labels. Nothing.

I looked at him and his upper lip was starting to swell. This time, I told him, we’re going to use the EpiPen. He looked at me like all kids do when you tell them they’re going to get a shot. Then, to my surprise, he asked me to hand it to him. He wanted to do it himself. He did it flawlessly, holding it in place for the slow 10 second count, with a big smile on his face. It didn’t hurt, and he knew that what he had done was brave and mature.

We went to the hospital. This time, no drama, no IV’s. They gave him steroid pills, which he was able to swallow, and monitored him for a few hours. That was it. Because we (he) acted quickly this time, he was spared more trauma and misery. We left after a few hours and rejoined our family. It turned out there were two batches of potatoes, one with milk, the other without.

The lesson in all of this? Take food allergies seriously and do all you can to prevent a reaction. Read labels and avoid cross-contamination. Even with all of this, accidents will still happen. When they do, act quickly, and use the EpiPen immediately. As our son recently proved, it’s so simple to use, even a child can do it.

Kathy Lundquist lives near Buffalo, New York and is a member of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network’s Speaker’s Bureau. For more information, visit www.foodallergy.org or call 1-800-929-4040.

A Letter from Kevin

The following is a letter that Kathy’s son, Kevin, wrote in response to a question from another child about his experience.

Hi Curtis, The EpiPen didn’t really hurt. I felt better right away and I didn’t throw up. I was a little afraid to take it, but I wanted to do it myself. I don’t know why. If I get an allergic reaction again, I would not be afraid to use it. You should use it right away, because the longer you wait, the sicker you get. You should try practicing it with a play EpiPen. If you eat the wrong food, sometimes you can feel it in your throat. The last couple of times I had an allergic reaction, I always felt it in my throat. I can’t describe it, I just know how it feels. I had a little bit of a hard time breathing both times, too. Sometimes if you have the EpiPen and you have an allergic reaction, you should not be afraid to use it – then go to the hospital and get some steroids. They taste bad if you don’t swallow them fast, but they help you feel better too. Drink something you like to swallow them easier. You can leave your clothes on – the shot goes right through and you don’t get embarrassed from taking them off. After you take the EpiPen, you should put a Band-aid on where you did the shot.

From Kevin

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My mother always used to say that the best thing about going on vacation was coming home, but I never understood that until my family took our first trip since learning of our son’s severe allergy to peanut.

Never have I been so happy to see my own kitchen floor. It’s covered in crumbs and sticky in places, but I know that those crumbs and sticky spots are NOT my son’s food allergens in our peanut and nut-free house. I wanted to kiss that floor when I saw it. Instead I dumped all of our bags and belongings, gleefully careless about what hit the floor or rolled under the couch.

The vacation started with some of the hardest cleaning I’ve ever done. We shared a rented beach house with family members in Duck, N.C. and to the average eye it was pretty clean, but not to the mom of a food-allergic toddler.

My husband took our son shopping while my parents helped me move furniture, vacuum behind pillows, wipe down dining room chairs, clean out the fridge, run dishes through the dishwasher and strip the beds. I found enough unidentifiable crumbs and other weird objects to feel it was worthwhile work, especially when I watched my son line up his toy cars under the couch where I had found all kinds of petrified foods.

My fantasy of relaxing at the beach was shattered when I found two piles of peanut shells in the sand within a few feet of our umbrellas. Fearing that the beach contained more peanut land mines, I spent a lot of time looking down at the sand, barely noticing the sound of the waves lapping on the shore.

We mostly skipped eating out, which was probably the best choice for dining with a 2-year-old anyway. But the amount of pre-planning of meals that took place with the various family members to prevent any dangerous foods making their way to the table was worthy of a U.N. security council deliberation, with carefully worded communiques and lots of diplomacy.

The good news — GREAT news in fact — is that my son had no problems on our trip. Our extended family really came through in supporting our food decisions and taking all measures we requested in order to keep our child safe. It was wonderful to have that kind of help for an entire week.

Watching my son dig in the sand with his aunts and run laughing from the surf was more than worth all the work and stress. Eventually, our concerns shifted to the very ordinary, like using adequate sunscreen and stocking the cooler with enough drinks for everyone.

Just as I reached this point of contentment, it was time to go home. It was a relief to be heading back to a house we know, where the grocery stores carry our favorite brands and the challenges of life are fairly predictable. Then a tunnel accident up ahead forced a detour along a stretch of highway in Virginia that might very well be the Peanut Capital of the World.

We passed about 12 peanut stands, peanut processing facilities and peanut fields. Would my son smell the peanut and react? Would he breathe in peanut debris? We shut off the car AC and prayed for the best.

Again, we got it; my son slept through the whole thing without so much as a hive. I slept well once we got back to our Pittsburgh-area home, our No-Peanut palace, recharging myself for the next adventure.

I am the leader of the Ottawa Anaphylaxis Support Group (OASG). I am also the mother of a child with a severe dairy allergy in kindergarten. When I read the Dec. 15th editorial about allergies in schools, I was disturbed. But I also saw the opportunity to educate others.

First, I think it’s important to remember the context. As of January 1, 2006, Sabrina’s Law requires that all publicly funded school boards in Ontario establish an anaphylactic policy and that their schools follow this policy. Among other things, the policy must include:

- Strategies to reduce the risk of exposure to anaphylactic causative agents in classrooms and common school areas;
- A communication plan for disseminating information on life-threatening allergies to parents, pupils and employees;
- And regular training on dealing with life-threatening allergies for all employees and others who are in direct contact with pupils on a regular basis.

This is a tall order for schools, given all the other things they have to deal with and the lack of resources. It’s only natural that there will be some growing pains during the first few years of this law’s implementation. But it is the law.

Second, I would like to respond to this statement: “They’ve made everybody else worry about milk allergies except the student with the allergy. He doesn’t have to change his life, but every other kid in his class does.”

Frankly, this statement is grossly unfair. From the moment a child is diagnosed with a dairy allergy, life changes dramatically. Parents of allergic kids avoid dwelling on all the extra precautions we take, because we want our kids to feel they have relatively normal lives. We also don’t want to be seen as complaining to others. We know it could be worse. But I think the time has come to provide some insight on what my dairy-allergic kindergartner does to stay safe.

Let’s start with the obvious. He avoids all dairy, even trace amounts. An accidental sip of milk has sent him to the ER twice in his short life, and we have no wish to repeat that ordeal. He cannot consume milk, cheese, sour cream, or yogurt. He must avoid about 90 per cent of processed foods, including breads, cookies, crackers, and candy, as most of them contain dairy or traces of dairy.

We discourage him from even touching dairy products because of the risk that he could put his fingers in his mouth, nose or eyes, and react. If he does directly consume any form of dairy by mistake, we have instructions from our allergist to give him epinephrine (the medication in an EpiPen). Without that, and perhaps further medical intervention, he could die. It’s as simple as that.

He avoids putting his hands in his mouth or his mouth on any kind of surface in case there are traces of dairy there. He washes his hands meticulously after coming home and before meals. He checks that my husband and I haven’t consumed dairy before letting us kiss him on the mouth.

He refuses any kind of food from anyone unless his dad and I have okayed it. He has known this rule since he was 2 years old and has never deviated from it – because he remembers his severe reactions.

He never goes to a restaurant, because we cannot find one that will guarantee there is no risk of cross-contamination with dairy in the kitchen. He does not eat birthday cakes at birthday parties, but brings his own cupcakes.

He wears a MedicAlert bracelet 24/7 in case he has a reaction and is unable to speak for himself when we’re not around. He wears his EpiPen in a special belt whenever he is out of the house, so that his emergency medication is always available. He practises with an EpiPen trainer regularly and knows how to administer the EpiPen himself – although no one should be required to self-administer in an emergency, and certainly not a child.

He never goes alone to his grandparents’ or godparents’ for a visit, much as they would love to have him, because they are not sure they could keep him safe.

He is aware that Sabrina Shannon, after whom Sabrina’s Law was named, died because of her dairy allergy. Sabrina, aged 13, reacted to fries she ate at her school cafeteria. These supposedly safe fries were served with tongs that had also touched cheese curds. Eating even a trace amount of dairy can result in death, and my 6-year-old son is very aware of this fact.

Dairy-allergic children do have to change their lives. Their lives depend on it.

But they are children, and they cannot do it alone. When they are in school, we parents cannot be there to watch over them. We must rely on the school community to help keep them safe, so that they come home alive at the end of the day.

I firmly believe in the old adage “it takes a village to raise a child”, even in this day and age. I am very aware that raising all our kids in a shared and yet safe environment is becoming increasingly challenging. I hope we can all work together to keep the lines of communication open and meet these challenges with mutual respect.

But please – don’t tell me that allergic kids are not doing their part.

Karen is the leader of the OASG (www.ottawaasg.com) and the moderator of Allergic Living magazine’s online forum (www.allergicliving.com/forum). She also edited the national anaphylaxis guidelines Anaphylaxis in Schools & Other Settings and the related website www.allergysafecommunities.ca.

Karen is the proud mom of Epi-Man and Epi-Man Jr. (www.epi-man.com), two young super heroes with multiple food allergies whose mission is to keep allergic kids safe.

But I’ve also learned how to stay healthy, and I want to help others with my story. So here it is.

My parents found out that I was allergic to nuts at the age of 2. I was still always feeling sick, so more tests were done when I was 8 years old. I was positive for fish, but my salmon allergy level was low. So later, at Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital, I did an oral challenge for salmon, which is when you eat the food to see if you react. I felt fine afterward, and we went home.

In bed that night, I woke up feeling very itchy. Then suddenly I was burning on the inside. I walked into my parents’ room and as they switched on the lights, they saw large hives and swelling all over my body. It was a reaction to the salmon.

Ambulance Ride and Secondary Reaction

My mom ran for my EpiPen. I so was scared of the needle, but she told me it was important to have it. She gave me the shot while my dad held me. She called 911, and told me, “you are going to be OK, you’re very brave.” Soon we heard the sirens. The firemen got there first and gave me oxygen – and a teddy bear to keep me calm.

At the hospital, after the ambulance ride, I felt a blanket of relief fall over me. But soon I was feeling bad again. I was going back into anaphylactic shock, called a biphasic reaction. The doctor gave me another shot of epinephrine. Over the next days, I took a lot of prednisone and Benadryl. I didn’t feel great, but I was alive.

Mine was not a typical case. It’s unusual to have anaphylaxis so long after trying a food. After that reaction, it was hard for me to sleep. I’d have flashbacks, hearing the sirens and feeling like I couldn’t breathe. I’ve been told this is post-traumatic stress. I learned to try things to help me relax, like reading a funny book, listening to music or saying a prayer. I’d tell myself I would get through it.

Today, life comes with restrictions. My family doesn’t eat in restaurants – with so many allergies it’s hard to find a safe place. My mom does the cooking, and we eat a lot of fresh foods and nut-free products. And I can’t do everything other kids do because I have to be careful.

Avoiding all my allergy triggers can be challenging. In June of last year, I had another reaction – we don’t know to what. I was at school, and got hot and itchy and my face became covered in hives. Yet I was not positive it was anaphylaxis. I called my mom to take me home.

On the drive, I felt worse and told her I needed the auto-injector. I tried to stay calm and took deep breaths. By the time the ambulance got there, I was already starting to feel better. I learned from that day: I need to trust my instincts. I didn’t give myself the auto- injector at school. I should have – it makes you feel better right away.

Severe allergies can be scary at times, but by now I know what to do to keep safe. I always carry an auto-injector, wash my hands a lot, let other people know about my allergies, and I don’t take chances.

I used to think my allergies were a curse, but now I believe I have them for a reason: to help educate others. Some students make nasty remarks about my allergies. These bullies just do not understand that allergies can be deadly. I want to spend my life educating people about anaphylactic allergies, and I hope that I can help other allergic kids not to feel scared.

I’m working on a book about allergies and post-traumatic stress. I think the more we tell people about allergies, the more understanding will grow, and the stronger those of us with allergies will feel.

They are scary at times, but allergies don’t have to stop us from living and having fun. We just have to be careful.

Erika DaCunha lives in Brampton, Ont. To comment, write to: editor@allergicliving.com

First published in Allergic Living magazine, Winter 2009.
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