It seems as though every day lately reminds me of how vigilant we all must be regarding food allergies. Case in point: John’s Spanish teacher organizes a fun and dynamic Spanish market (Mercado) every spring for the first graders. The kiddos make a bunch of cute items to sell and barter, and they practice using their Spanish while buying items with their handmade pesos. I volunteered for this market when my daughter was in first grade and had a blast. But I remembered they also sold popcorn too. So I happened to run into John’s teacher yesterday after school and asked if they still offered popcorn at the mercado. She reponsed, “Oh yes, I already bought it and we are all set”.
Hmm…that was the first I had heard of it. I asked her if she purchased it or if a parent was supplying it. She said she already bought it and told me the brand name. I informed her that John has severe dairy and nut allergies, and that most popcorn sold contains the milk allergen. She looked puzzled. She told me that she had asked the school nurse if there were any allergies in the first grade and the nurse gave the name of two children. But not my son’s name. Of course, the Spanish teacher apologized profusely and said it was her fault. I told her no, it was the nurse’s fault. I will have a serious discussion with the school nurse this morning.
At the begining of the school year I always sit down with the nurse and teacher to discuss John’s allergies as well as his allergy action plan. However, we got a new school nurse mid year and I assumed, wrongly, that the nurse was brought up to speed on all the children with allergies. Imagine the scenario if I hadn’t asked the popcorn question to John’s Spanish teacher. And again, I only knew about the popcorn because I had volunteered to work the mercado two years prior for my daughter. The scenario would have gone something like this: In the midst of the confusion and chaos of the mercado (and it is organized chaos) John would have asked his teacher if he could buy the popcorn, and she would have said yes because she checked with the school nurse about any allergies. John would have eaten the popcorn(which by the way has milk in it, based on the brand the teacher bought), suffered a reaction, and you can fill in the rest.
This is deeply disturbing to me. Who else is better qualified to be knowledgeable about our childrens’ allergies than the school nurse? She is the one who keeps John’s allergy action plan and 504 plan as well as his medicine kit on file in her office. How on earth did she oversee this when communicating with the Spanish teacher? John is one of those kids, (like many of your children) who have multiple, severe allergies and asthma, a deadly mix. This oversight could have put his life at risk. Not just hives and a tummy ache, his life.
Can you sense my anger over this? I am puzzled at how even though I go through great lengths to protect John, keep all the legal paperwork up to date, do a thorough system of checks and balances at every field trip, cafeteria purchase or class celebration, mistakes still happen. I don’t think the worry will ever go away, and every week we are faced with new challenges or situations. This is just another reason why I advocate for removing food from school celebrations and parties. The risk to a child’s life just isn’t worth it.
I KNOW. There are just too many ways things can go wrong. *sigh*
I totally understand. It’s really frustrating when people drop the ball like that. Every year of school that we go through the more I wish food and treats of any kind would just not be allowed.
This is just terrible. You go to extreme lengths to ensure that your son will be safe and then they can’t even remember to put your son’s name on a list of kid’s with allergies. Frustrating is an understandment.
[...] Read the rest here: A reaction waiting to happen…. [...]
We had a close call with popcorn at the kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast this year. His teacher, who told me a week ahead that he could have the turkey and the popcorn but not mashed potatoes or pumpkin pie, said it didn’t occur to her that dairy could be in popcorn. Luckily, I was there the day of and saw the microwave bags and knew to double check. Still, he was disappointed because she had told me he would be able to eat it, he loves popcorn and I hadn’t brought him his own safe version. They had decorated bags for the popcorn and made this whole big deal out of that particular item too.
Thank you for writing about this experience and being so open about how upset you are. My daughter has all the same allergies plus garlic. Asthma treatment has just started as well and I barely feel like I have a grasp on it. Staying positive and I take advantage of our better days. Great site and you have a new fan in me!
It’s amazing how many allergy-people have no idea what’s in their food, and it’s disturbing how many of them also do not take food allergies seriously. (A dear friend of mine and I spent the night in the hospital two weeks ago because she was told that the dish she’d ordered was nut-free, but actually, we found later, contained PEANUT oil. Her throat instantly closed up, her shot was in the car blocks away, and we were ambulanced to the ER.)
In his book, “The Man Who Ate Everything,” Jeffrey Steingarten makes the claim that he believes most food allergies to be imagined. When I read this, the words of so many people with whom I conversed over the years came to mind; many people actually believe this, and as a result aren’t as vigilant as they should be. (Sigh.) Good catch, food allergy mama!
It’s particularly a shame because popcorn is so good, even vegan and dairy-free varieties. (I hear that Trader Joes’ has an olive-oil popcorn now that’s dairy-free, though I have yet to try it.) Here’s my favorite dairy-free cheesy popcorn recipe: http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/fingerfoods/r/CheesePopcorn.htm
And that was supposed to be “allergy-free” people.
UGH – How frustrating – I agree, life would be so much easier and safer if they just didn’t do food treats in school. For me, there is always this constant need to try to think 5 steps ahead of any event (which you did!) and it is exhausting. While it doesn’t make anything better, it does make you feel less alone when you hear others stories!
I wish I could say “I can’t believe this!”
But, we all know it’s all too believable. Where is the line? There must be a line between being vigilant and proactive to protect our kids and being a nuisance. But, darned if I can find it. You obviously did everything right and having a basic level of TRUST that the former nurse would have properly conveyed the medical information isn’t outrageous.
Sigh.
Thanks so much for ALL of your wonderful comments. I can’t tell you how much it means to me. I have yet to speak with the nurse as she has been out sick. I will give you all an update when I have one. Thanks again!
You are doing a great job protecting your son. I am taking all of this in, since in another year my daughter will be in kindergarten and we will be leaving the security of our wonderful preschool. I am inspired by your posts and they are helping me think ahead and learn about what is to come.
I have two young children with food allergies…my daughter is pnut and tree nut and my son is allergic to dairy, egg and mustard. We are about to take a long driving trip in June and I thought you and some of your readers might have some suggestions for fast food stops along the way. We haven’t eaten out much at all since my son was diagnosed and really, we’re okay with that most of the time, but on a trip it helps to have a place or two you can go. Any ideas?
Good luck with your talk with the nurse. Thanks for the yummy recipes!
Jackie
Please see my blog post: Brave Policy in the Name of Wellness. kathi927.wordpress.com A school district in the Twin Cities is banning food in the classrooms. For moms like us, this is a welcome relief.
Keep up the diligence and great work you are doing for your family. I really enjoy your blog. Thanks for sharing the struggle food allergic families face and how WE rise to the challenge.
Great post Kathi! Thanks so much for sharing your story. I hope that the more we share our story with others about the dangers of food in the classroom, more school districts will reconsider their current policies.
I am the parent of a food allergic, epinephrine carrying, asthmatic and a health assistant in a school. I wish I could say I cannot believe it, but I can. I have had new jobs in the past and as with any new job the learning curve is steep. Thankfully your vigilance prevented a problem. I did not have the luxury of knowing what food my child was allergic to and had about 6 Epi-Pen using-emergency room visits. Some of these were at school. By being proactive I had all the key pieces in place for taking care of my child. As a parent I made sure all of the teachers had the information to keep my child safe. As a health assistant I have the privilege to help keep other children safe at school. Education and information is the Key. We all need to do our part. My son is now 14 years old, knows what he is allergic to and carefully watches what he eats. He is independent with his food choices and has gone 2 and 1/2 years since using his Epi-Pen the last time. I love to see them expire without being used!! His food allergies include all tree nuts, sesame and paprika! I do not believe that food should be excluded from the schools but that our food allergic individuals and their adult influences should work together to help them make wise choices. Food is a part of our life and should be included in life lessons.
Kelly – I really would like to know how this turned out post-nurse-discussion…
Things like this make me feel sick to my stomach. Our county’s school choice program has been modified and mostly ended during my son’s PreK/Kindergarten years. Last fall I armed myself with a letter from my son’s allergist, plus page after page of medical documentation, as well as my son’s I.E.P., and camped out at the administration’s offices until I was able to have my son placed in the only elementary in the Northern half of the county with a full time nurse.
Needless to say, this school is a mecca for kids with food allergies, diabetes, and other medical needs. We have a lot of communication with her and are very happy with the current situation, but we are unfortunately the exception, since most of the public school nurses cover four or five schools.
Please do share the outcome after your discussion with the new nurse!
Thanks so much Libby for your comment. You are one awesome mama! Your story will inspire others to do the same. I know we are fortunate to have a full time nurse in our school district, but that doesn’t change the fact that the nurse still needs to do her job correctly. Our nurse has been out, but tomorrow I am addressing the issue with our principal and superintendant. Thanks so much Libby!
I have a daughter in third grade who has MANY allergies to foods and more. We have decided since she started school that she was to eat nothing but what I sent for her. Since she is allergic to milk, soy, peanuts, eggs and some food dye. I found this to be the safest way for her. The best thing is to keep her as informed as possible, because I just cant count on teachers, adult, ect. to be as informed as I am regarding ingredients, since its taking a lot of research even for me to learn everything. I have a talk with her teacher at the beginning of each year with the strict advice not to give her anything to eat, and I will send something for her when they are having rewards. Many times the teachers forget and don’t think about it and give her candy ( which most she can not have) I’m so glad most of the time she knows enough to wait till she gets home if shes not sure about it, but a few times she has had bad reactions, because she thought she had that kind before. I’m sooooooo lucky they were later in the day and she usually on her way home when the reaction takes full course. she is the quiet type and probley would wait to long if she was at school and needed help. Its a really scaring thing, I know within the last years they are reconizing food allergies more but the seriousness of it really needs to be addressed more.I also wish they would make other choices then rewarding children with food and candy.
to jackie
I found it very helpful to look at different restaurants web sights where most will list ingredients of their menu, and then jot down which food from where they can have.
My daughter loves Arbys cause she can actually have their potatoes (the only fries at fast food) Make sure you even check ingredients in the meats.
Thanks so much for sharing your story Heather. You bring up many, many great points. I couldn’t agree with you more about rewarding children with things other than food. We have to try and educate our schools about this; it is a serious and dangerous thing.
Thank you for sharing your stores. My 6 yr old is also deathly allergic to dairy, egg and peanut and I KNOW your frustration. We had a very similar situation with a popcorn party in my son’s class a few weeks ago. I never trust anyone and that is such a shame that you can’t even feel comfortable with the school nurse. the only way to fight all this is to FIND A CURE! no one without allergies TRULY understands the magnitude and severity of food allergies! thanks for sharing your stories!
Thanks so much Laura for your comment. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to know you, like so many others understand my pure frustration and anger over this. I’ll post an update to this debacle soon.
Heather,
Thanks so much for your input. I have been checking a ton of web sites and realizing that almost all the fried foods are fried together and that something is bound to have milk/egg in it that goes in the frying oil. Ugh. I know many people don’t worry about that….I guess I’ll have to talk to my allergist about my kid’s specific needs and see if he thinks they could handle that. We think our son had a reaction that way once, though our doctor seemed to think it was unlikely.
Thanks again for your feedback. And thanks for sharing about your school experiences. My daughter will be in public school in 2 years and I am trying to learn all I can now about how to approach it. I appreciate all your info.!