I’m scared of spoons!

You read that right; I’m scared of spoons! Is that a splash milk on there? A slimy little blob of egg? Did someone lick peanut butter off that spoon? If so, the consequences can range from a scratchy throat and welts, all the way up to a hospital visit, or worse… Little things can turn into big problems. The reason I’m so scared of spoons is that I have multiple food allergies.

The thoughts above run through my mind regularly, I get especially anxious when I’m at school, a restaurant or when I go to a friends house for a hangout or a sleepover. When I was just 4 years old, a tiny little cashew put me in the hospital. My biggest fear as an allergy sufferer is dying. Most people don’t have to worry about every little thing they put in their mouth. I find that scary and worrying sometimes.

Allergies have impacted my life in many ways. If we go out for dinner, or when we’re on holidays, my meals have to be prepared by mum or grandma to make sure I don’t eat something I’m allergic to. But allergies haven’t just impacted my life, they’ve affected my mum, family and friends too.

My mum is amazing. As a single mum, it was a huge struggle for her to care for a child with multiple allergies, especially when I was little. She had to read every food label and cook nearly every meal at home. Birthday parties were a nightmare. She even struggled to find people to babysit me because they were too scared that if I had an allergic reaction that they wouldn’t be able to stick the Epi-pen in my leg.

In the future, I hope to do some allergy challenges if my levels are down. I have so much to learn from my mum to be able to live by myself when I’m older. I have to learn how to cook and take care of myself, so I don’t have to fear my life with allergies, I can love it.

-Heath