Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Happy New Year- and food allergy management standards published

Happy New Year.
I hope that everyone has a good, safe and adventurous year. That's what I want. And I know with a kid going off to college the adventure is built in.
Note that FAAN has worked hard on standardizing food allergy diagnoses and “Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy in the United States” was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. in early December. yay.

This means that in California or Michigan food allergies will be diagnosed and deal with in the same way. This might even mean more physicians will understand the management of food allergies and certainly this article will have an impact on how allergists outside the big food allergy hospitals will help their patients. I think it's great and a strong step forward for education.


Sunday, December 19, 2010

Holiday cheer and frustration

It's two weeks before Christmas . You get an email about a special breakfast at school. you call the head of the cafeteria, and you ask what the ingredients will be in the potatoes. You silently say thank you because the hash browns are safe.
But on the morning of that special breakfast, you realize that no matter what you've done, or sent-- the bagel with sausage, the breakfast empanada, the chocolate chips-- it still is miserable for your son to sit and watch his classmates of 12 years be served waffles, omelettes, pancakes, sausage by their teachers, and he is not. He goes to the kitchen to ask for his plate-- and the head has forgotten, no blame here there's 50 kids and lots of other holiday requests, but still.
They say misery loves company, but I think our kids often suffer it alone, not wanting to share their frustrations with others or get upset in public. Not saying we don't get the call, but I wish there were a way to have them not be so isolated.
I always say, the worst it can be is terrible-- and that morning, I guess I was right.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

So here's the new look of my website-- easier to comment and chat (aka-blog) and all is good. Hope you all like it!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Asking for ...favors?

For the first time in the 13 years we've been at one school, I have asked the head of the kitchen to prepare a meal for my kid. She's been willing in the past, but he hasn't. not safe, not fast enough and didn't want to be singled out.
but today I did.
It's breakfast-- which is the hardest meal for us to make anything special or portable. We usually bring Cheerios... a big fan-- and maybe order bacon or home fries if not in butter or on an eggy grill.