I have recently begun taking driver’s education classes. Besides the obvious worry of crashing into cars, I also worry about driver’s education because of my allergies. In my experience, any environment where there is going to be other people, especially children my age, there is most likely going to be snacks. Normally this is okay, but because of my allergy, this can be a worry. So, just to be safe, my parents called the driver’s education instructor and informed him of my allergy.  They assured my mom that they would tell the instructor.

After hearing this, I felt safe in my driver’s class. Just to make sure, I reminded him of my allergy the first day of class.

So of course, today, he comes walking into class with a big box of cookies, and shouted that it was “cookie day.” The cookies were packaged, so I went up to check the label to see if they were safe, when he threw away the label before I could ask to see it. So I had to sit through a two hour class when everyone was eating potentially deadly cookies, touching things with the hands that touched the cookies, etc.

Realistically, I knew I would be okay. I was sad that I couldn’t have the cookies of course, but I figured that I would survive. However, this is the real danger of allergies. It isn’t the thing that you are allergic to, but the people that don’t understand. The severity of food allergies is misunderstood all the time. Today wasn’t the first time that people misunderstood my allergy and potentially put me in danger, and it definitely will not be the last. However, I believe that education of allergies can severely reduce the amount of events like this, which is one of the main reasons I started this blog. I want to spread the word that food allergies aren’t just something to ignore, but they are a big deal.

It’s frustrating to me that events like that happen so often. However, I am happy that I am able to turn my frustration into something productive. Instead of being angry at people who do not know better, I can do so much more trying to educate them. So, I hope that you, my readers, spread the word about allergies, like I am trying to do, especially if you have food allergies yourselves. Also, to you readers that care to learn, thank you for your time and support.

Until next time!

Gary

I wasn’t diagnosed with my allergy to peanuts until I was four. Before then though, I refused to eat them. I would literally run down the hall if someone was eating a pb and j sandwich.  It seems ridiculous now, I know, but I guess I somehow predicted my nut allergy. However, sometime during 2005, I decided that I wanted a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. My parents, who had been trying to help me overcome my strange nut-phobia for a while, immediately prepared me a sandwich in an excited frenzy. I was finally going to learn that my fear of nuts really was crazy! Well, my face swelled up like a balloon after I barely took a bite and I began to sneeze–not one sneeze, dozens and dozens of sneezes in a matter of minutes. So that was a bust.

My parents immediately gave me Benadryl and took me to the ER, where I was diagnosed with an allergy to peanuts. I didn’t know what to think, when I was told that I had a deadly allergy to nuts. I remember being sad, but I also know I had no idea how much it would affect me and my life. From that day forward, my life changed. My parents immediately threw away every food they had that contained any nuts, and practically cleaned every square inch of the house trying to eliminate everything that might kill me. We researched a lot into nut allergies, learned how to read labels for allergens, found out just how many unexpected places hide nuts, all that jazz.

We continued to remain hopeful though, because the most common age for outgrowing allergies was five to six. Those years came and went and now I’m fourteen, so I guess that was a bust too. However, in the ten years that I have had this allergy, I realized that it could be a lot worse. I have an allergy to peanuts and nuts. However, I know people with an allergy list longer than I could ever imagine. I know people with diabetes, people who have to spend their entire lives in a wheelchair, people with diseases like cancer. In the long run, I feel blessed to only have to worry about a food allergy instead of having to worry about something much more serious.

Until next time!

Gary