Tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 25) the Today Show will feature the story Emily Vander Meulen and her death from anaphylactic shock caused by her food allergy.
When I tell people that my children have food allergies I don't think they always realize how serious food allergies can be. If I said my child had diabetes people would think "Medical condition, requires extra care, can be fatal." But with food allergies, I feel they think "So, a few hives? A runny nose? What's the big deal?"
The big deal is the 150-200 deaths from anaphylaxis caused by food allergies that occur every year.
So when you see me hovering over my children eating at a gathering or when I frantically run across a room to grab something out of Owen's hand, these are the stories that are running through my head:
In memoriam:
Sabrina Shannon
Nathan Walters
Chris Clements
Alex Baptist
And so many more....
After looking over all those stories again, I feel very sober. I won't take you here very often, to the really sad place of food allergies. It's just what was going through my head today.
2 comments:
Hello, that Today show segment made me cry, I just can't handle the fact that this can kill, its a nightmare, I am very extreme about what and where my child eats, overly cautious because of Emily's parents, their story is such that it needs to be told they are so brave, for so many parents don't get it. I must admit we have learned so much over the years , and are much more careful than when my daughter was diagnosed 4 years ago.
You can not be too careful , I would rather people hink I am slightly nuerotic and keep my daughter safe.
It was nice to find your blog.
This is so very sad. I have often wondered what it is about nut/peanut allergies in particular that seems to cause such serious reactions. In any case, I hope doctors find a cure for food allergies soon- I believe it will happen one day. But until then, I have an epi-pen in my backpack.
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