15 Jul Peanut allergies from a child’s perspective
Faith is an 8 year old little girl who is currently going through Oral Immunotherapy to peanuts. Faith is an amazing little girl who has such a positive outlook and attitude in life despite her food allergies. Faith, like most kids living with food allergies, wishes others would be more understanding and take her allergies more seriously. Faith decided to write a short story in hopes to educate others about how serious a food allergy might be. Please read her story below:
Learn About Peanut Allergies with Faith
A True Story
By: Faith Bartos
Note from the Author:
Peanut allergies can be pretty serious! I have a friend who can’t touch nor smell peanut butter. It doesn’t seem too serious, but it is! I can’t eat certain candy or foods. I have to sit at a certain table at lunch. At Halloween people give me stuff I can’t have. So, I give it to my sister and she gives me a piece of her candy.
I lived a happy life. But one day when I found out I had an allergy. It’s super serious!! You are not going to believe it!! It is…a peanut allergy! That’s right, peanuts. It may not seem too serious, but it is very serious! This is my story:
I was coming home from somewhere with my friends when I was 3. I had eaten a little granola that was a circle with a peanut in the middle. I ate it because my mom did not know that I was allergic. So, I ate it and got red blotches on my face. Then I got sick in the car and we had to pull over at a gas station with our friends in the car.
Several years past and then one day my mom found a place called Allergy and Asthma Care. They help people with allergies and asthma! So we tried it and we did the peanut challenge. That didn’t work, so we did immuno therepy. That’s where you take Kool Aide with peanut powder. Then you are onto capsules with peanut flour. Next, just peanuts! Just a regular full peanut! When it goes up to 24 peanuts, I graduate that day, and I can eat whatever I want without reading the labels! Next I will do the pecan challenge which is the same thing, but is with pecans instead of peanuts! Isn’t that sooo cool!
Miss Amanda is my awesome nurse who takes good care of me. She makes great cakes and is so sweet and kind to me. She gives me peanut free snacks and coupons. She is not only my nurse she is a friend that I can trust. Angelica takes care of me too. She gave me my first Epi whenever I needed it after the peanut challenge.
To be continued…
Faith believes she will have to write some additional “chapters” as she continues though OIT to share the rest of her journey! Stay tuned to read more about her experiences.
Please remember that this is one child’s story- this is not meant as medical advice. Oral Immunotherapy and Oral Food Challenges should only be performed under the direct supervision of a board certified allergist.
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