Go on - have a rant!

Liz Sarkissian shouts out about her son's milk allergy

"Please do not take away his dignity by dismissing the seriousness"

My son is now almost six years old. He has a severe milk allergy - he will not grow out of it. He is one of those 'rare' cases that people casually refer to, but rarely discuss.

We are continually discovering new allergens and cross-contaminations that keep him from eating what little he can eat. He's just started Kindergarten. His teachers mean well, however, even attempts to meet his needs for snack and party times still end up being awkward or forgotten. He still asks when Jesus is going to heal him.

And today I learned one of his friends at school (granted he is five also) thinks it's funny to "joke around" about trying to get him to "eat milk". Tristan was obviously feeling me out on its appropriateness. I too have a milk allergy. But a very mild case in comparison to Tristan's. Tristan requires an Epi-Pen on hand at all times: at school with the nurse, in the car, in my purse, at home, at Grandma's …He takes an antihistamine every night. And yes, he has asthma and Refluxed (GRD), which are all interconnected. I just keep telling him that other people have it worse.

But, to him there is nothing worse. He is realising he is different and he will be for the rest of his life unless God blesses him with a miracle. We live with this reality every day.

Labels on food are our friends and our enemies. They don't always give the accurate information. There is the false security of eating something "safe" only to suffer a reaction from cross contamination. Our child lives with this every day. It his world. He is always seen as different simply because food could kill him. In seconds his throat can close up, from foods that most people sit down and enjoy with their favourite TV show.

Please do not take away his dignity by dismissing the seriousness...the reality...the day to day world my son and my family live in simply by dismissing the statistics to "a few rare cases are serious" and "most outgrow their allergies". If you are going to give facts - give facts.

Thank God most children do outgrow this horrible handicap of a dairy allergy. But what about the few who do not? You sigh a relief and forget about them? We are one of them.

Have you got strong views on a food issue?

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