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Chanda's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 11/20/07 -------------------- 5/27/07 4/20/07 3/31/07 3/28/07, Entry 2 3/28/07, Entry 1 3/2/07 2/23/07 2/20/07 2/18/07 2/16/07 2/14/07 2/10/07, Entry 2 2/10/07, Entry 1 2/10/07, Entry 1 9/22/06 9/20/06 9/10/06 9/2/06 8/16/06 8/11/06 8/2/06 7/31/06 7/31/06 7/13/06 6/26/06 6/21/06 6/17/06 6/15/06 6/13/06 6/11/06 6/9/06 -------------------- Chanda's Introduction

school lunch....

February 23, 2007

Okay, when you are rasing an allergy child at home, you face certain battles and challenges....but nothing compares to sending your allergy child off too school.  Seriously.

We have a good set up at home, our system works. But at school, a whole other story.  Wed at school they were serving pancakes.  Mon, Tues and Wed I talked with Jake...."Jake they are serving pancakes at school, you need to make sure you eat the pizza that day, the pancakes have eggs in them".  I must have repeated this at least 6 times.  So Wed comes, I figure, I don't need to meet him for lunch, as much as I pounded it into his head, he'll eat the pizza and be fine.  I get a call from the Para at lunch, "is Jake allowed to eat pancakes, he picked them at lunch"!!!!  I about died!  I explained ot her I told him 1/2 a dozen times to pick the pizza(which he did, but went back for 2nds and got panckaes!).  She took them away form him, thankfully she was there. 

I came home and emailed the principal...something had to be done.  The lunch computer has a warning under Jake's name...when he gives his lunch number it says *NO PEANUTS, NO TREE NUTS, NO EGGS* but he told the lunch lady "we eat pancakes at home" so she let him through with them.  Mind you, my pancakes are made with applesauce, NOT eggs! 

I know have a meeting with the principal next Tues, I am making hubby go. He needs to be apart of this, it's always on my shoulders.  We are also requesting a 504 meeting. A 504 is a legal document, backed up byt he American's With Disabilites Act...anaphylaxis caused by food allergies is protected under the disabilities act.  So the 504 helps me work with the school to set up safe measures so Jake is not exposed to any of his life threatening allergens(peanuts/all tree nuts and eggs).  It helps keep them liable, helps them remember to do whats necessary....and gives me someone to contact if it's not followed, it's  a legal document.  Not everyone does them, not everyone thinks they need one....I on the other hand, do!

At lunch I was also realizing, when Carson and Savannah are there, the milk allergy is going to be a nightmare!  The only table they can sit at is the peanut-free table(until we are certain they are not peanut allergic....further testign will be done before school starts)....but there were kids eating cheese nachos at the peanut-free table today, that cheese is so drippy and gooey, it was everywhere!!!!!!  We were sitting with my daughter at that point, she had nachos too, I told Carson(milk allergic) so sit further down on the edge of the table....she got cheese all over my arm, the kids on the other side of me kept pushing his cheese covered tray against my back as well!  I though, what the heck am I going to do when Carson and Savannah are here, this is a nightmare, really!  If they are getting cheese dripped on them(and it's as sticky as peanut-butter in my opinion) how the heck are they going to be able to eat in the lunchroom??  That cheese was all over hands, lips, tables, I saw kids licking it off their hands, I was panicking just sitting there, honestly.  We stood for the rest of lunch!

You know, people and kids that don't have food allergies, you have it so easy.  Food is everywhere, food is messy and food can kill my kids.  Most days I am pretty calm, today, I am very stressed.  Most would tell me, "well, then keep your kids home, homeschool them".....but I don't think that is the answer. My kids are so social, how fair woudl it be to keep them locked up at home, I just can't do that, I don't want to do that.  So I stress....I sit here and stress and panic and wonder "how the heck am I going to do this".  

HUGS