Allergies Abroad

When Alayna was just 15 months, I had one of the biggest scares of my life... Her first allergic reaction to peanuts. [Stories shared here and here.]

Over the years we've gotten really great at knowing what she can and can't have. She always asks for the wrapper to be read before trying anything new, and Halloween is always a tricky time as she yearns for all the great candy that every other child receives. But, we've adapted. We carry Epi-Pens along with us, and thank the Lord, have never been required to use them. She is tested with blood work and a skin graph every two years to measure the depth of her allergy and prior to every visit we pray that the numbers are slowly decreasing. I think it's fair to say that we've gotten pretty comfortable living with a peanut allergy.

Five years later, we are in a whole different ball game. Living abroad, the food choices are different and our safe "go-to's" aren't avidly available on the store shelves. Restaurants are tough because we don't know what oils they cook with, and many don't speak fluent English to converse about this in depth before ordering. That which we do purchase from the market, is brought home and reviewed by our Ayi, who helps us translate the labels. And now, I carry along a small card that reads:

没有花生

Méiyǒu huāshēng

我对花生过敏

Wǒ duì huāshēng guòmǐn

It means, "No peanuts. I am allergic to peanuts." 

The biggest hurdle has been the lack of awareness here. Unfortunately, it's such a huge epidemic in the states that schools know what to do, have strict rules for avoidance, snack policies are in place, clearly printed ingredients are bolded on packages, etc. Here in China, even though we are at an American school, it's just not a common issue.

Last week, Alayna began a six-week co-curricular group titled, No-Bake Cooking. After week one, I found out that they would be using peanut butter during week 4 and during week 2 they were using cookies that they were "unsure whether or not contained peanuts." WHAT?!?! How do you not know? Of course, I turned into crazy-mom-out-to-save-the-day and began trying to fix this issue. At first I thought I could just "Amazon China" some sunbutter (because ours is still on the boat making its way around the world), but holy-good-God! It was going to cost me $71.63 (without shipping!) for a 16 oz jar that I typically get for about $6!

After I came to my senses that that was asinine, I contacted the teachers and coordinators who have been wonderful. I'm working with them on alternatives for Miss Aly, instead of having to miss out on 1/3 of the classes, and they are changing the menu for all upcoming co-curricular cooking classes to eliminate peanut butter all together! Ah, a step in the right direction for all other kids coming behind Alayna, dragging along this annoying headache known as allergies.