2011-04-07

Lunch and Love


In theory, this is still a food blog, so here's a sweet little lunch to tide you over:  a sliced turkey and Tofutti "cream cheese" wrap, pretzels, fruit salad of grapes, mandarin oranges and strawberries (with elephant food pick), and a heart cookie with apple juice and Happy Feet stickers on the side.  Doesn't everyone need dancing penguins to share at lunch time?

Today I'm still reeling from a call from the school nurse.  My son drank from a water fountain in the music room, though he knows he's not supposed to.  ("But I was thirsty!")  He had a contact reaction with hives on his hands, and even more worryingly, on his throat.  Nothing terrifies me like a threat to my child's airway.  The school handled it well, as always:  a staff member spotted it right away, the nurse determined what happened, washed him off, called me up and gave him Benadryl.  My husband then picked him up from school, since a dose of the pink liquid leaves him too sleepy and accident prone to return to class.

Sometimes I just hate this.

The really scary part is that I am one of the lucky ones.  My son's school is supportive, caring, professional and has a full time nurse on staff.  The other parents are considerate and concerned for my son's safety.  His teacher is wonderful beyond words.

I don't know how parents manage to stay sane when the school and community don't believe that part of being a good parent and good person is looking out for other people's children.  Yesterday I finally met a family in that situation, Tracey and Dave Bailey whose incredibly sweet six year old daughter has been the target of a brutal smear campaign, which has misrepresented her food allergy accommodations and attempted to drive her out of a public school.

The school in Edgewater, Florida, which has been picketed by parents, held an "Allergy Awareness Meeting" yesterday which some of the members of our support group attended in order to show support for the Bailey family.  It was a remarkably quiet event, but I do have a post brewing about it, as promised.

In the meantime, here is a photo of an amazing peanut detection dog, who I was also privileged to meet yesterday.  This is an animal who could serve as an example of the unconditional love and tireless dedication needed to keep a child safe.  Maybe the protesters in Edgewater could learn a little something from her.

5 comments:

Paula said...

I can't imagine what you and other parents of children with peanut allergies must go through every single day to keep your children safe. I clicked on the link and was dumbfounded!
So sadly unfortunate that there are so many educated idiots who are too ignorant and selfish to want to take a few extra steps to protect an innocent child from getting in harms way.

Lindsay said...

You son's lunch is SO cute, once again. You seriously make the happiest lunches. :) I'm glad to hear that the public education meeting went fairly well, and I love, love, love that you posted a pic of the peanut detection dog. I love dogs. They truly do give so much love, whether working dogs or plain ol' family pets. Thanks for posting!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Libby for coming and showing your support to our family. It meant so so much to us. We love this dog very much too and her family has become such a great support for us and have also became great family friends. Thanks again for everyones support it means so much to us!
Love
The Bailey Family

Poker Chick said...

Do you think it's safe for this girl to go back to school there, after everything that's happened? Curious to hear your thoughts since you know what's going on. I really feel for them and hope that girl can just be a normal kid.

Ricki said...

I LOVE this post! People like the Baileys are so worthy of this support. I feel the same way as you and don't know how I'd deal with such a constant threat to my child's safety (even though I don't have children--just can't even imagine what that would be like). And of course I am in love with that dog. As you may know, I am a huge dog lover and think they are amazing animals. . . not only do they provide sensory input for those without sight or hearing, they also detect drugs, criminals, grow-ops, cancer, impending diabetic comas, and now peanuts (and, I'm sure, other allergens). I know I'd trust my (appropriately trained) dog more to suss out my allergens than I would my school to prevent them from getting into my food.

PS Would love to join the carnival--but I went to the link and still don't understand how to submit. How does it work?