So I posted the following message:
"We just wanted to let every
one know that our daughter is Very Allergic to Peanuts. We have been recommended to avoid all nut products because of the possible life threating nature of her allergy. She will always have an Epi-Pen with her and we would be happy to show you how one works if you are not familiar. We need your help to make sure she doesn't eat anything she shouldn't have. Thank you."
My Husband shared this message. It received no likes and 2 comments. One from my cousin who has her own food issues, and the other from a former coworker of mine.
Over the next several weeks we saw or spoke to various family members over the phone they all said that they had seen the post, but really had nothing more to say. I didn't know if they were indifferent to the whole thing or if they just didn't get it.
We were lucky to have some people that understood right off. My Mother, a nurse, totally got it. My Mother-in-law, allergic to fish, understood, but asked, "She's going to grow out of this right? Kids grow out of allergies." After we explained that if it had been anything else maybe, but not peanuts, she looked defeated but accepted.
I think the worst one was my Aunt. While talking to her over the phone one night she stated that she had seen the post. I explained how we found out and she asked, "But you breastfed her, why is she allergic? Your not allergic to peanut-butter, you've been eating it you whole life. She even asked if it was because she was an IVF baby." I wanted to slam the phone on her ear, but the effect is lost with smart phones, I can't hit the END button with the same effect.
So because of the lack of response and understanding we decided that our daughter would not be allowed to be unsupervised with anyone in the family. One of us needed to be with her at all times.
A fine plan until one of use messes up.
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