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Thursday, September 10, 2009

F.A.A.N & The Gingerbread Man- CLICK HERE!

Wednesday, September 16- Gingerbread Man Cookie Day at Pre-School With Dairy Allergic Child

In one hour, I will go and pick up my care free, beautiful, and very intelligent 4 1/2 year old daughter from her pre-school class at St. John's School in Rochester, Michigan. In one hour, and hopefully not before one hour, I will know if her day was a success by just looking at her. If I get a phone call from her school in this hour, the day was not good. That means a food allergy attack and possibly a visit to the hospital next door.

If , when I pick her up,she is a little sweaty, slightly tired, but happy when she hugs me, I will know that it was a good "food allergy" day and nothing but a few harmless hives may have shown up on her face or hands while in the presence of dairy products. See, my daughter has anaphylaxis dairy allergies, which means that if she comes in contact with dairy products, she gets a hive. If she ingests any dairy products, her throat will close, she will blow up like a balloon and she could die. This is the truth of living life on life's terms with a child that has life threatening food allergies.

But, thanks the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, (FAAN) a 501 (c) (3) not for profit organization and its guidance, the chances of my daughter dying from an allegy attack are very, very slim if I continue to do my part--the footwork, the food watches, the cookie dough making, ect.... Event he slight threat of an anaphylactic attack keeps me alert, aware and energetic enough to continue to tread the way through dangerous waters. Even if those waters seem as simple as 'The Gingerbread Man" cookie baking day at pre-school.

When the "Gingerbread Man" cookie day was announced, my daughters teachers took me aside first and told me. This is what I expect to happen because her teachers are extremely kind people who go out of their way to keep me and Madison in "the Loop" of pre-school activities that will involve dairy products.

In fact, I held Madison back and kept her in the same pre -school class, with the same teacher, primarily because her food allergies are so severe. In addition to not wanting to push her into kindergarden, I needed the extra year to get into the groove of remembering what it was like to have an allergy kid entering the real world.

Today, I remembered exactly what it was like:

It started last week with the personal reminder from the teacher about Gingergread man cookie day. She asked me if I could bring in Madison's own dairy free cookie dough to make Gingy's with the other kids. I made a mental note to make sure I had our own cookie dough and cookie cutter to bring in. Then today I realized that mental notes in my head do not necessarily stay put. I had the cookie dough, but could not find The Gingerbread Man cutter for the life of me....or her! The dairy allergy that we live with is so severe, that my daughter will get hives on her face and arms if the same equipment (aka: cookie cutters, knifes) is used. This is what we refer to as "cross contamination."

I don't mean to threaten, alarm, scare or confuse anyone with this information, it is just simply the truth. And the truth is that we have to be as careful as we can. This morning we made her own cookie dough, got it packed in her dairy free bag, and went off to school. I can't say I wasn't nervous, because I was. But, I have to let go. I cannot stay with her every second of every day- not possible. So I have to trust.

I trust her teachers- Ms. Petros and Ms. Weber. In fact, I met Ms. Weber in the foyer this afternoon and we discussed our strategy as we walked with Madison to the classroom. Madison is and has been well aware and educated about her food allergies. She does not eat or touch anything, does not complain, and even asks me at times "Mom, are you SURE there is no dairy in this!"

When we got down to her her classroom, I gave them Madison's cookie dough, put everything else in it's place, checked the Benedryl and Epi-Pen stash, and gave my daughter a kiss goodbye. As I drove home, I send messages of gratitude to the universe that Crittenton Hospital is right next door to her school.

I trust Crittenton hospital, and Beaumont hospitals, and the hospital in Owensboro, Kentucky where she ended up after an anaphylactic attack. In fact, the food allergy is believed to be the leading cause of anaphylaxis outside the hospital setting, causing an estimated 50,000 to 125,000 emergency department visits each year in the U.S., depending on the source. I also implicitly trust and admire Dr. Savliwala, our allergist. He is in mine and many others opinions the best pediatric and adult allergist in the world. THE WORLD!!!! (strong statements, but he is awesome.)

But most of all, I am deeply grateful for and fully trust the Food and Allergy Anaphylaxis Network , a 501-(c) (3) not for profit organization that was established in 1991. FAAN’s membership now stands at close to 30,000 worldwide and includes families, dietitians, nurses, physicians, school staff, and representatives from government agencies and the food and pharmaceutical industries. FAAN serves as the communication link between the patient and others

I found FAAN through a group called the Circle of Food Allergic Families (COFAF) here in Birmingham, Michigan. These two organizations have been invaluable to me with their continuous source of up to date facts, statistics and allergy alerts. FAAN and COFAF have given our family the ability and resources to help advocate, educate and explain what a "life-threatening dairy allergy" means. They have also give me the information and tools I need so that I do not have to go into a "defensive mode" when discussing life threatening food allergies.

Since joining the FAAN organization in 2005, I have gained an incredible amount of knowledge and self esteem when it comes to advocating for my daughter and others with food allergies. I don't preach, hold seminars, take hostages or judge people who do not understand food allergies. I just simply stand up and say "My daughter has life threatening food allergies and all I ask is if anyone needs to bring a treat to school, please check let me know and I will take care of my daughters food."

Since 2005, FAAN organization has grown nationally and is working harder than ever to help raise more awareness about children and adults with food allergies. On Saturday, October 3, FAAN will be hosting a Food Allergy Walk at Kensington Metropark, 2240 W. Buno Road, Milford, MI 48380. The event begins at 10:00 a.m. There will also be another Food Allergy Walk in Millennium Park, 1415 Maynard Ave.,SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49534 this Saturday, Sept. 19.

On October 3 at Kensington Metropark, myself and thousands of others will walk in honor of our children and families who are living with food allergies, life threatening or not. We will walk to support FAAN and its organization and hopefully raise enough money to continue to educate America about a growing problem facing many people today.

I walk in honor of Madison, our daughter, and for all the little ones who can't explain that they are having an allergy attack and they need immediate help. I learned to be aware of the signs and have been trained in how to help someone survive. Without FAAN, none of this would be possible.

Please visit the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis website at http://www.foodallergy.org/ for more information about the organization and the walk. Anyone can join us help raise awareness, and learn some great things along the way.

If anyone is interested in donating for this particular walk, please visit the FAAN website donation page at http://www.foodallergywalk.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Home and click on donations. Our team name is KiddieKlub and Carol Kalvelage is the team captain. You can make your doantion to either name name, as it all goes to the FAAN 501 (c) (3) not for profit organization. This is a tax deductible donation. Forms are available on web.

So, now I get to go and pick up my lovely child from school. No phone calls from teachers, hospitals or doctors. I think the Gingerbread Man project was successful which makes this a truly great allergy friendly day.

Labels: food allergies, kids charities, non profit 501 c 3