In his words....

I never asked him about it before. The thought never occurred to me that my Owen would have words to describe how he felt. I know it isn't easy, but I guess when you hear it come from him, it makes it so much more real. I did a short interview with him this week to ask him about what it is like to live with a peanut allergy. Below is a transcript of that (please remember he is 7, so not all of his sentences make sense at first. I didn't want to change his words though).

Mom: What is it like to have a peanut allergy?
Owen: It's hard?
Mom: What makes it hard?
Owen: That you always have to be sure and be honest with yourself. Know and ask what's like in it. It's hard to do all that.
Mom: How do you feel at school? What's it like going to school with a peanut allergy?
Owen: (thinking)
Mom: Do you think you are any different than any of the other kids at school?
Owen: Well, it's hard to get friends when you have a peanut allergy because they might not know. They might touch you or try to give you something with peanuts in it. So, it's hard to get friends who don't have a peanut allergy and understand it. That is REALLY hard to do. It's hard to trust people.
Mom: Who do you trust the most at school?
Owen: That would be Chas (his best friend) because he never has peanuts. He never usually.
Mom: Tell me about you and Chas, being friends. What's that like?
Owen: He knows so it's easier. He helps me not have an allergic reaction and just kinda looks out for me. He's a pretty good friend.
Mom: Do you have anything that makes you scared while you are at school?
Owen: In lunch, when people are ALL around me. You never know if they have peanuts.
Mom: How scary is that?
Owen: About a little because the table right next to us is like getting on our table. And that's the no peanut table.
Mom: What about when you are just going somewhere? Like when you go to the hockey game or to Monster Jam? Are they always fun?
Owen: No so much when you have peanut allergies. Because you have to watch out and sometimes you miss some stuff that are fun.
Mom: How does it feel when you miss some stuff?
Owen: Sad, that I'm missing out when my friends get to do things.
Mom: You understand why you have to miss things?
Owen: Yeah. I get to do other things that are fun.
Mom: Do you remember your last allergic reaction to peanuts?
Owen: The time I had the cookie at school? I forgot half of it because I fainted.
Mom: What do you remember?
Owen: I remember having the cookie and not being able to breath. I remember throwing up and the ambulance coming. I forget everything else.
Mom: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Owen: A cop
Mom: Why?
Owen: So I can just help other people so they can learn to do the right thing.
Mom: If you didn't have a peanut allergy, what would life be like?
Owen: Easy.
Mom: Do you think you have a hard life?
Owen: Yes, because there is peanuts all around me.
Mom: What is Mommy and Daddy's job right now as far as you?
Owen: You keep us safe and teach me how I am going to live.
Mom: You have a field trip coming up, what is your immediate thought about going on a field trip?
Owen: Scared.
Mom: Why?
Owen: Because there could be peanuts everywhere. Hard to get away from them.

You can tell a common theme in Owen's answers. He is scared. It's interesting to me that when Alec comes home with a field trip permission form, he is all a flutter and excited. Owen came home with the form and the first thing out of his mouth was, you are coming to help protect me Mom, right? I knew the answer to that question in the interview before I even asked it. I find some of his answers insightful and have learned quite a bit about the need to teach trust to my sweet fella. He already knows the only person a boy can trust is his Momma ;-) But I need to teach him that there are others out there that love and trust him too. If you are curious to know more, feel free to sit down (if you are local) and talk to my fella. If you have one of your own, I insist, talk to your food allergy kid. It will surprise you what kind of answers you will get.
Now, wash your hands and clean your mouth and go hug a food allergy kid today :-)