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| Vision – The Furry Cousin |
Like having nine food allergies isn’t enough, our son’s allergy to dogs is off the charts! His allergy to dogs causes hives and heavy congestion, watery eyes, and sneezing which lasts for days. It’s very much like that really annoying cold you get that you wish you could have avoided.
You may at first think that it’s no big deal. So what…get rid of your dog right? Wrong! I want you to take a minute and think about all the people that are important to you in your life…maybe even make a list. (I’m notorious for my lists) Now cross off anyone on that list that has a cat or dog. How many are you left with? Exactly!
It wasn’t until we moved home to NH that we realized what an inconvenience it was. Out of our entire family (my husband comes from a HUGE family) I can think of four houses that are dog/cat free.
What does this mean? It means my children are not able to go to Grammy and Grampa’s house for Xmas, Easter or any other day. It means my children won’t have a relationship with their furry cousin, Vision (which breaks my heart cuz she’s part of our family). It means not being able to attend cousin’s birthday parties. It means now our house will be the main gathering place for the majority of all family and friends (oh joy…that is so totally sarcastic). But it also means that I won’t have to prepare and pack a lunch box full of safe foods to bring with me to other homes. I won’t have to worry about host’s offering peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or any other allergy ridden food. Being able to control the access to food allergies in ones own home is much, much easier than in someone elses home. Or so I thought… (I’ll save those stories for future post’s)
Anyways, I feel a responsibility ,as our son’s mom, to keep him healthy. I know how I feel during a cold and it sucks. I won’t intentionally expose him to any of his allergens knowing he will have to feel that way. There will be a time, when he’s older, when he can make that choice for himself. Until then, I vote no and everyone is just gonna have to get used to it (which we have…but it still sucks).
Life goes on living…with food allergies and dog allergies…sniff, sniff, achoo
-Elizabeth
Love your blog Liz! I've learned so much about life with allergies and it's definitely made me more sensitive to situations with other kids that might have allergies. One of my 1st questions when Cayla started Kindegarten was if it was OK to send in snacks containing peanut butter. 🙂 Keep up the good work!
Thanks Meg! Educating people about food allergies is my main objective. Unfortunately, food allergies are becoming more and more common. I think my blog can help families like yours, which have no allergies, become more aware. It can also help families with allergies come together to support each other.
Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. 🙂