Being a mom of a food allergy Child : Food Allergy Awareness Week

I had always thought nothing of my Kids eating a peanut butter cracker on the playground or carrying around a cone of ice cream at the park until my son was diagnosed with food allergies. I had always thought that people who talked about food allergies where over worried and over concerned parents not wanting to feed their kids a certain food. Now that I am a mom of a newly diagnosed child with food allergies , and it is down right scary!! I have now become even more paranoid of the places I go daily and the things I touch. I have never thought of the impact would be so hard!! At first it was relief after years of wondering what was wrong with my child, why he would break out in huge rashes and have multiple asthma attacks. I spent hours in a ER, been through two surgeries and two hospital stays. Now I have nightmares of my son eating a peanut and having to give him his Epi-Pen and the look on his face from the last attack he had ( he was scared) .. I have been back and forth in my mind of all the changes I am going to have to make for him. I know it seems like having a child with food allergies ( and other health issues) would be annoying, tiring and stressful, But  I have learned it is much more than that.

1. Its waking up in the middle of the night from your baby crying because he cant breath well. As you sit there singing his favorite lullaby holding his Neb mask on his face you think of the last time you cuddled and realized it was weeks ago
2. Going to the park and watching him have freedom away from the house ( all the while you are praying there is nothing on the slide that will make him sick)
3. Going to a doctors office and making wonderful friends with the staff and them telling you are a good parent ( how can I be, my child is suffering and there is nothing i can do)
4. Having the talk over and over about what your child is allergic to until they can tell you what they are allergic to. ( its even harder with a slightly non verbal child)
5. Going to do blood draws and allowing them to have that big sucker he saw in the hospital window ( even though you dont want them to have all that sugar)

I am pleading with the parents with children that do not have food allergies to consider us. We may be the mom that yells louder at a PTA meeting, or the mom who brings the weird snacks for her child at soccer practice.  Please remember our children because what wont harm your child , can kill ours. I ask for family members not to downplay my concern and feed my child something that could harm them, I have rules for a reason. I ask for the media to pick these stories up and make it as popular as cancer stories or world news.. Our children deserve the attention and all the help we can get! It would make our nights easier , maybe we can sleep. It would make our kids relax and be able to enjoy going out to eat somewhere or go to the park and play freely.