Walking a tightrope

I read an article from NPR a couple days ago about a teenager who has food allergies and what he and his family are doing to bring more awareness to the issue.

The article was fine, but the comments people wrote about the article is what irritated me.

I'm no dummy, I know people can (and do) write whatever they like about whatever they like and then hide behind their little IDs. Sometimes the things written are purely for shock value - just to get a rise out of others.

Maybe that is all this comment was. It doesn't really matter. It worked.

This insensitive idiot thought what this family was doing was outrageous and the parents were make a mountain out a mole hill. He even thought this whole food allergy rise may be just a conspiracy. Needless to say this person was immediately attacked by other commenters and called all sorts of names (rightly so). I didn't leave a comment but I was pretty ticked off after reading it.

You see, my son has food allergies. A lot of food allergies. The little guy is allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish and peas. He has an Epi-Pen with him at all times. No one else in our family has food allergies so we have no idea how he ended up with so many. So yeah, I get a little irritated when people say they think this food allergy thing is a bunch of over protective parent hooey.

I know that is difficult sometimes for people to understand food allergies - especially since it getting to be there are a lot of people with food allergies now then there were even 20 years ago. I know I can not remember any one is my school have food allergies.

We don't know why more and more kids have food allergies these days but we do know two things: they are real and they can be a matter of life and death.

So why wouldn't every parent want to do what they could to help protect the life of a student at their child's school? All the family in this article was trying to do is spread a little awareness. Education leads to understanding and understanding leads to compassion. And that is all I want. People to understand food allergies and have some compassion for my son who can not be around peanuts because if he is he may have trouble breathing or worse (and I don't want to think about the worse).

But it's not just food allergies. Any parent who has a child who needs a little something more - weather its an allergy, a mental disability, physical disability or social disability - wants their child to be included and to be safe.

We just want our kids to grow and prosper and be successful like every other parent. We are the champions for our children and we want them to be safe and sometimes we have to make a little bit more noise to make sure that happens.

But I think there is a thin line we must walk between obnoxious and passive. I know I feel that way. I want my son to be safe so I want to make sure I speak up to ensure that, but I also don't want to go into every situation waving my arms in the air screaming like a manic because there may be food there he is allergic to.

He's just like every other kid - he just has to be careful about what food he is around.

We have been very fortunate so far with a terrific preschool that is wonderful and I feel completely comfortable when I drop him off at school that he will be safe. Next year, however he moves to another school. I am not ashamed to admit that I am nervous. It's a bigger school with more kids and a cafeteria full of food he is allergic to.

Hopefully with the help of the principal, teachers and staff we will all educate his classmates on his food allergies and once everyone understands, we can all have compassion for my little guy and no one will roll their eyes or make a snaky comment when the kids can't eat peanut bitter and jelly sandwiches.

In the end it's all about a child's safety and who doesn't want their child to be safe?

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