In December of 2005, when my now 17 year old son, Morgan, was just 9 years old, I asked him if he’d be willing to start writing a column for my AllergicChild.com Newsletter (which has since become our Blog). We decided to call it Morgan’s Corner.  This was before he’d had anaphylaxis to fish on that fateful camping trip. He was still in elementary school, and wasn’t yet allowed to self-carry his EpiPen since the law in Colorado was yet to be passed.

However he was certainly knowledgeable about his food allergies! He’d experienced teasing/bullying on the playground, been left out of activities at school (even with a 504 Plan in place!) and gotten to self-advocate with a teacher. The life of a child with food allergies is filled with lessons. If you ask your child the questions below, do you know what answers you would get?

A trip down memory lane found Morgan’s original column:

 

How old are you Morgan?
I’m 9 years old and in the 4th grade.

What are you allergic to?
Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Shellfish, and Sesame. I’m also allergic to Dogs and Cats, although it’s mostly anything that’s alive with fur on it. Although those are but a few what I am really allergic to, those are my main.

Do you ever remember not having allergies?
No, I do not remember not having food allergies. I was really young when we found out, so I don’t remember.

What’s the worst part of your allergies? In other words, what do you wish you could change?
I don’t know really what the worst part is. It’s either not going over to a friend’s house or I can’t eat something. I also wish that I did not have dog allergies just because a lot of my friends have dogs, so they have to come over to my house instead of me going over to theirs.

Have you ever been teased because of your allergies?
Well, twice actually. Once, a friend of mine went running around the playground, of course chasing me, holding a peanut butter cracker and yelling “Eat it Morgan! Eat it!” Another time is when another one of my friends actually went around chasing me pretending to be a peanut butter sandwich. All these times, I went and told the teacher and they did get in to trouble. We’re friends now, and I don’t think about it much anymore.

Have you ever been left out of activities because of your allergies? If so, what? How did that feel?
Food Fights, Food Fights, and more Food Fights. Seriously, I have to either not participate, or check the labels on all foods at a party at school. That usually takes a long time though. It sometimes felt great that I’m safe, but I also want to participate. I have also been left out when my 1st grade classroom went next door and I couldn’t go in. The classroom wasn’t peanut free. I told my teacher how it felt to be left out. She cried, and it didn’t happen again.