You go, girl!

I was cruising through my daily blog-fest, determined to do it quickly tonight so that I can set up my sewing machine in the newly created computer/desk/guest/sewing/crafting room, when I came across a new link on a college friend’s blog.

It led me to the Central Illinois Food Allergy Network (CIFAN). My roomate, and one of my dearest friends from college, has begun a network of concerned and supportive parents and professionals who in some way are touched by food allergies. Sarah has a little one who will soon be 3. I remember talking with her in the early days and months of his life, when he had a seemingly uncurable case of eczema. She asked for hints on getting rid of cradle cap, and did I find it strange that he seemed to have cradle cap...well...kind of all over? I encourage anyone who visits this blog to please click the link here to go to CIFAN and read Sarah and Sam’s story.

I think that the severity, prevalence, and seriousness of food allergies is often underestimated by people who don’t deal with them. I must admit that in the early stages of Sam’s ordeal, I wondered what Sarah was getting so worried about. And then I heard about her journey with Sam and all that she was faced with. And the life changes it meant for Sarah, Nate, and their families. Going to the grocery store is no longer a quick and easy task for her. Leaving Sam at preschool means educating everyone who has contact with him (and worrying every moment he is out of her sight). Visiting relatives can be a stressful, worrisome thing. There’s no “just eat a peanut butter and jelly for lunch” for them. And, as a mom, I know that Sarah worries about any effects the allergies and the “differences” have on Sam. For my family, the reality of food allergies has hit even closer to home now that A has a friend at school with severe allergies to eggs, barley, soy, and other things (Think those allergies don’t mean anything? Imagine being a preschooler heading to a birthday party with friends, and being unable to share in the birthday cake and ice cream. Try going through a week without eating your favorite cereals, breads, and snacks because they likely contain enriched flour. Furthermore, imagine being the mother of this child who is becoming more independent and heading off to school, where you cannot be with him to check everything he eats, drinks, and plays with at the craft table...).

Sarah is an amazing person, something I’ve known for 13 years. She’s goal-driven and unstoppable and committed and loving. She’s also really, really smart. Even more than that, however...she is wise. She comes by that naturally. I can say that because I know her parents. And her sisters.

And so it really shouldn’t surprise me that Sarah and Nate’s struggles with Sam’s allergies have led to the creation of this organization. And it doesn’t surprise me. It really makes me stand back and watch in awe. Such a committed mom turning her frustration, worry, and uncertainty about the future into something so positive and necessary. I wish I were more like that!!

When we went through our third triemester of J’s pregnancy and the first few weeks of her life, having been told that she had a malformation of her brain, and then having that diagnosis miraculously turn false, I went through feelings of true anger and resentment. I had experienced the absolute height of worry, all because of a prenatal ultrasound that wasn’t entirely accurate (and we knew the possibility of that going in!). As the weeks passed with J, I read story after story about false ultrasound diagnoses that led to circumstances much less pleasing than ours, and I wanted so badly to save other moms the heartache that we had experienced. I had thoughts of springing into action and finding some way to educate others and locate resources and provide information. And then more weeks passed, and more life happened, and our story just became a little bump in our family’s timeline that we hardly think about anymore.

It’s those truly special, driven people who change their communities, their situations, and the world. Sarah is one of those people. And Sam (and Nate and baby H) is extrememly lucky that she takes care of him.