My name is Denise Lewis, founder of Food Allergy Connection. My husband, Ron, and I have a 17-year-old son with life-threatening food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish, and he also has asthma.  After two years of not knowing what was happening and not receiving a diagnosis or education about our son's conditions, we finally got the diagnosis of Asthma when he was 2-1/2.  He'd been hospitalized twice by then and had also had 4 anaphylactic reactions to what we were fairly sure were peanuts. 

The pediatrician never acknowledged the possibility of food allergies, but sent us to a Board Certified Allergy and Asthma Specialist for diagnosis and treatment of his asthma.  Even the allergist was skeptical about the food allergy since his skin test turned out negative to every food they tested him for. However, the allergist admitted that what I was describing sounded like the symptoms of anaphylaxis, so he prescribed an EpiPen, Jr.  A food challenge was eventually done that confirmed his diagnosis of peanut allergy (I wouldn't recommend trying a food challenge - scary!) 

I've been a volunteer for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), Greater Kansas City Chapter, since 1993. In 1995 I co-founded the PLAY Group (Play and Learn with Asthmatic and Allergic Youth) with my good friend, Christy Renner, who has a daughter with life-threatening milk allergy.  

The PLAY Group became an affiliated support group of AAFA’s national chapter in Washington, D.C. The PLAY Group is a play group/support group for children ages 5 and under. The PLAY Group won a 2nd Place National Support Groups Excellence Award sponsored by AAFA’s national chapter and the Associates of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology for their seminar called, "Share and Compare Day".  I taught in the pre-school program of AAFA’s annual "Family Asthma Education Day" seminar starting in 1995 and I also developed the pre-school curriculum for the 6-hour seminar.  A few years ago I began conducting food allergy workshops for parents at the conference.

Food Allergy Connection (FAC) was formed to provide an educational support and advocacy group for parents, and FAC also provides In-Service training to schools, day cares and early childhood development groups.  FAC's seminar is a MO/KS Core Competency Level V approved class, providing 1.5 clock hours to early childhood educators. 

We've conducted seminars for the Shawnee Mission School District at the Shawnee Mission district office in the state of Kansas, The Child Care Association of Johnson County (now called the Midwest WholeChild Development Group), the Christian Pre-School Association and the Greater Kansas City Association for the Education of Young Children.  FAC has also provided training in a growing number of preschools and schools.

FAC also offers individual consultations and guidance for families with food allergic children.  FAC's non-profit support group is affiliated with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), in partnership with the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN).

I feel strongly about the need to educate others about food allergies and am committed to helping find ways to keep all food allergic children safe, whether they are at home or in someone else’s care. Educating the children, parents, schools and day care centers is essential since severe food allergies are on the rise in children. Keeping children safe is a top priority for parents and educators alike, and education is the key to successful management of food allergies. You'll see that phrase a lot throughout this site, because I totally believe it.

The best thing you can do is accept that living with food allergies is a way of life, a chronic condition, but that things really could be much worse.  Be thankful that it's a chronic condition that can be controlled and prevented.  Then you start learning as much as you can about living with food allergies and adapt that knowledge to your everyday lifestyle and go with the changes life throws your way.  Education is the key to successful management of food allergies. 

Our son is a junior in high school this year and hasn't had an accidental allergic reaction since he was three years old.  We even had him retested recently to see if had outgrown his peanut allergy, only to find out that the peanut allergy was still registering at the highest level and that he was also allergic to most tree nuts and shellfish (he had never eaten any of the foods in these food groups before). 

I was devastated at first, but I tried not to dwell on it for too long because I was confident we could handle it and that it really could've been a lot worse.  After meeting some of the families I have over the years, I am so thankful that our son only has the allergies he has.  Not to minimize peanut, nut and shellfish allergies, but some of the children I've met have many more food allergies than our son does, and some of them are much more tricky to manage.

I'm thankful every day for our son's life and health, and I hope our story is a good example of how education and avoidance play vital roles in living successfully with food allergies.

For more information about our individual consultations or In-Service Training, contact us or check out our other pages.

Denise Lewis - Food Allergy Connection

seminars@foodallergyconnection.org

Please put "FAC Seminars" in the subject line