As a kid growing up, I was always having severe allergic reactions to peanuts and nuts and cats and shellfish. Tom Poti does as well. Read this article please.
I always carry an EpiPen with me as does my son.
This is a constant battle.
When I fly on a plane and they serve nuts and peanuts or when I go to a baseball game and the fan next to me is eating peanuts and crushing open the shells, I have to run away.
This is a real concern for folks like Tom Poti, my son and me.
Have empathy. This is a real issue.
Tags: Food Allergies, Ted Leonsis, Ted's Take, Tom Poti, Washington Capitals
Having never had known I had any food allergies in 36 years of life and then ending up in the hospital for eating a caesar salad this past June I can relate to this. The changes in my life have been dramatic. The description in the article:
Eight foods account for more than 90 percent of all identified food allergic reactions: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat — and Poti’s own allergies fall squarely into that demographic.
Well this hits home as egg white, egg yolk, peanuts, and scallops all can take me out. Cows milk makes me sick. Many other foods are not a big deal but they do make me ill to a lesser degree.
As an Islanders/Capitals or Capitals/Islanders fan (complicated) the first person I thought of after I got over the depression of the life altering adult onset allergies (and losing our Capitals season tickets which I’m over. on most days) the first person I thought of was Tom Poti.
If someone with similar allergies can be a professional athlete, then I can use this as a motivation to adapt and not let it bring me down. So, while is stinks that ALL Ben and Jerry’s flavors have egg yolk in them, well maybe I shouldn’t be eating a pint anyway.
Being a kindergarten teacher I have had quite a few children in my class from year to year with severe allergies. Some children cannot even be in the same room with someone eating a peanut butter sandwich. Snack time has changed in that now everyone brings their own snack. Birthday celebrations where children treat their classmates to cupcakes, brownies, etc. are now filled with questions to me about who has allergies, foods to avoid, and what are the safe choices. I carry the children’s epi pens with me on every field trip or school community project we attend.
The good news is that I have observed how aware these children are of their allergies and how they will question me or anyone serving food about the ingredients and whether or not anything has come from a mfg. plant that processes peanuts or whatever they are allergic to. I’m happy to say that the number of times I have had to use an epi pen in kindergarten this year is ZERO! One more plus is that because these children are so open about their allergies, the other children in class look out for them and what they eat as well.
Its amazing to me how many people have these allergies. In my family alone we have cat allergies,fish allergies, fruit allergies, and shellfish allergies. I definitely have empathy for you, your son, Tom Poti and anyone else who has these issues. The good news is that I think more people are beginning to understand how life threatening these allergies can be.
I feel ya. I have the nut allergy however I didn’t seem to develop it until I got into college.
What made me REALLY realize it was when I was 21 and I ate an entire can of cashews. I was *this* close to driving to the hospital.
It isn’t too bad… well.. it wasn’t. I can live without peanuts in my life. But it’s too bad because it seems like soy does the same as well the past few years. I’m a carnivore to the core but sometimes It’s nice to enjoy some soy meat.. at at least it used to me.
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