Becoming and Advocate

Sometimes you see and injustice and it strikes such passion you cannot escape it.

There are some injustices in life that strike a passion within us and bring us to action. For me, human trafficking is a big one. In Colorado we are working with Sarah's Home (check out www.rmdc.org for more details) which be one a very few places in the country that will house and help bring restoration to young women rescued out of human trafficking.

Another injustice that struck passion inside of me was Project Prevention at the LA Dream Center (www.dreamcenter.org) when we were there last summer. Project Prevention works alongside the state of California with open cases to help families at risk of losing their children to the foster system due to extreme cases of poverty, regardless of the fact they with a parent or parents who love them, to meet basic needs so that those children are able to stay with their families. As a mother, this was so amazing for me to see. In America the average family is a mere two paychecks away from being homeless. Facing the fact that your children could be taken from you due to impoverished situations beyond your control is heart breaking. The Dream Center has prevented this from happening in so many families and even saved the state of CA hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is amazing and continues to open doors for this to continue.

Other times, it is your own circumstances that cause you to do something.

If you read back to the blog I posted at the end of 2012, you will read about our daughter's struggle with life threatening food allergies. Two nights ago was our second time taking her to the emergency room and having to administer a shot of epinephrine to save her life. Tuesday night I gave her some "safe" chocolate and after a few bites, she (a very bright 3 year old) began to cry saying, "Mommy, I can't eat these!". She began coughing and hives began to pop up on her face and ears immediately. Turns out the way the chocolate was packaged was how the exposure happened. They were contaminated with peanuts and tree nuts, and who knows what else on her long list on known allergens. Those trace amounts caused a reaction that could have taken her life had we not acted. I read about everyone on their gun control soapboxes and screaming about the fact that "guns are killing our children" (forgetting to mention the almost 500,000 babies that were killed in utero via abortions last year alone, but I digress).

My child can die from food. 

Peanuts. Tree nuts. Eggs. Milk. Beef. Garlic.

Any of the above, even in trace amounts, can take her life. I realize from experience that unless you have a child with life threatening food allergies in your family, often times you are naive to how seriously fatal food can be. Even though the exposure the other night was under our care, when I was in the hospital waiting while they monitored her until 1:00am, I began to think, "If we (her father and I) don't, who will?" It is our responsibility to spread awareness to everyone we can about the severity of life threatening food allergies and how to prevent exposures, and how to act should you see someone having an anaphylactic reaction to food.

What are some things that you wish you knew about food allergies?
What are some things you would like to share with others about food allergies?