Food Allergy Families

Oh no! I'm so sorry this happened! My heart dropped when I read the title of your post. Just when you were feeling better about your school choice and kindergarten. It just stinks, stinks, stinks!

I'm sorry the allergy number didn't go down, either. What a terrible day you are having.

Shame on that TA's for not taking it seriously. No wonder Lily doesn't want to tell them when she's having problems. Do you think there may have been times before that she's told them she was having issues, and they have just brushed her off?

I think I'd have marched DD back in front of the TA's and forced her to watch how bad it got. (Well, I probably wouldn't have, but it's makes me feel better to think about doing it!)

I think the sign language is a good idea. Do you think she would be comfortable telling a friend, and then having the friend tell the teacher? Do you think if she had a pre-written note, she would be able to hand that to the teacher if she needed to? I don't know, I'm just trying to help brainstorm....

I forgot to ask -- How is Lily doing now?

Ooo, all good ideas - I'll ask her which she wants to do. After the tsp of Benedryl I made Lily lay down for some rest and she slept for almost three hours. This is partly due to the fact that the road trip we took finally caught up with all of us - the boy slept for three hours also (he never does that) and I am totally wiped. So it was a really late night but overall she's doing OK. She looks like hell, though.

Poor Lily. I hope she is doing better today. When she has a reaction, does it make her scared to go back to school the next day?

I also wanted to share some thoughts about the thread from the 4/5 board. I hope you don't mind me posting here, but I thought it would be more appropriate here.

I'm very surprised by all the positive responses you got. I figured you would get some positive, but some negative, too. I wonder if they responses would have been different if it had been some sort of poll, and responses were anonymous. I don't want to be a downer, but I'm just too cynical, I guess. Were you surprised by the thread? It's just seems, in my experience, that not everyone is so willing to change their daily behaviors to accomodate someone else.

I think I read somewhere in the thread someone mention how important it was to get to know the family. I think then, it's much more likely to get a positive repsonse. Again, I'm cynical, but I think that's why you got so many positive responses on that board. We have all "known" each other for so long, people are more willing to accomodate each other. Another board, and my guess is that the responses would be different. (Maybe I still sting after a post I made on the Elementary board over a year ago. I need to learn to let things go!)

I think this post turned into more of a ramble. Sorry. Maybe I just need to change my attitude, and stop assuming the worst. I'm just curious what your thoughts are on the thread.

I agree with you completely. It sounds nice, but living it is a totally different thing. I think you are right about it being somebody you know - I have friends in NY who would do this for me without blinking an eye. But I'm not there, am I? I've known so many people on these boards for so long I don't doubt they would do that for me - but strangers, I dunno about.

You must be sick to death of hearing about all of this...I am just trying to get a feel for what kind of reaction I might get, but it's too hard to judge form these boards. I'm obsessing over the whole thing and lucky you get to go along for the ride.

I remember reading that thread from the Elem boards. I was so pissed I had to stop reading. And my experience has made me just as jaded. I feel like every experience I have with people IRL leaves me more aggravated about the whole issue.
I may just post one day and say "forget it, I'm homeschooling". But we have time to try to sort it out, and I feel like I need to give it a chance. My DH thinks its a waste of time and loves the homeschool idea, but I'm as on the fence about that as I am everything else right now.

I'm happy to go along for the ride. My choices are to post/read, or clean. Trust me, this is much better!

I don't want to sound like I'm trying to talk you into sending Lily to school and not homeschool. I'm just giving you my thought process on why we decided to send Emily to school. (Besides the fact that I, personally, don't think I could handle it. With your background, I'm sure you would be up for the challenge.)

It does get easier as they get older. Preschool, and even Kindergarten, are TOUGH. But, perschool especially. Lots of shared toys, lots of touching each other, hugging, snacks, etc. It's always an option to keep her home for Kindergarten, and start her to school later, like 1st grade.

Think, though, of how things are different when they are in elementary school. They are there all day, so no one else is sitting in their seats. There is no afternoon and morning classes. The same teacher is there all the time, and (hopefully) knows what is going on in her classroom throughout the day.

Sharing things goes way down. She would (probably) have her own pencils, crayons, glue, etc. They don't play with toys anymore that much. Their activities are much more structured, and really center around learning.

(Now, I must admit that for Emily, since she is half day, she doesn't have her own supplies. They all share in half day Kindergarten. In full day, they each have their own.)

I know that for certain activities, Emily's techer has provided her with something different. For example, if the class was working on shapes, Emily had a separate set of her own. I have told the teacher that I am willing to provide things, if needed, so that Emily can have something similar, if not exact that is safe.

I think, right now, you are at one of the very, very low points in dealing with food allergies. Preschool and allergies are HELL. They really are. I'm not saying that Kindergarten is a breeze, but it is so much more of a controlled environment that makes it head and shoulders above preschool.

As she gets older, I'm expecting it to become more and more controlled, and to get easier. Of course, this doesn't mean that next week I might not be complaining of some lame-brained thing that goes on in Kindergarten! :)

You're probably right. I'm not so worried about the classroom as I am the cafeteria...we'll figure it all out somehow.

Sorry about the awful experience and the bad news. Hope things start to improve for you all.