Then first-time mom, Ashley McGrail had the biggest scare of her life when her son was just 13 months old. At the suggestion of his pediatrician, she gave him peanut butter for the first time. She watched in horror when he started immediately developing hives, his mouth began to swell, and it was clear he was having an allergic reaction. Thankfully he did not go into anaphylaxis, but with one bite, her relationship to food completely changed. Here is Ashley’s fight to end food allergies.
What do you do to keep your son safe?
Since that day, I have been focused on keeping my son safe while enabling as much normalcy as possible. This means always packing a first aid kit with EpiPen and Benadryl to playdates. For Birthday parties I always coordinate with the Birthday child’s mom to find out what is being served at the party and if I have to send my son with allergen-safe cake and pizza. I also started educating myself on food allergies and want to make sure others in the community are educated as well. It’s the little things that you may not think of but as a food allergy mom, I worry about. For example, my son is going on a field trip so I asked the school nurse to run EpiPen training refreshers at school so that the teachers going on the field trip will know how to identify and respond to food allergy reactions.
You are involved with E.A.T. Tell me more about how you got involved with E.A.T?
After my son was diagnosed with food allergies, I knew I wanted to contribute to organizations that will drive transformational change for allergic families. This is why when we were introduced to E.A.T. (End Allergies Together), we embraced them with open arms. Do you know 1 in 12 children have food allergies? That is staggering! To make it worse, these numbers continue to rise, but little is known as to why: what causes allergies and why people have anaphylactic or life-threatening responses to allergens. When I found out E.A.T. is focused on funding the research to understand why and to find a cure, I knew right away that this was an organization I needed to support.
What is Shoot for a Cure?
To date, there have not been many allergy fundraising events that included children, yet so many children are affected by food allergies. That is why I was inspired to help the incredible E.A.T. team and Michelle Feit Isban launch the first ever Shoot for a Cure – Family Fundraiser!
When:
Shoot For a Cure is on Sunday, May 19th from 1-4pm!
Location:
Breezemont Camp at 62 Cox Avenue in Armonk, NY.
Details:
- There will be entertainment and basketball competitions with professional coaches.
- Activities, inflatables, crafts and fun for kids of all ages. Activity tickets will be sold at the door.
- Families can also create their own fundraising page and get sponsored to participate in Basketball events. Click here for more info.
- There is a silent auction with outstanding prizes including kids’ classes, birthday party packages, sleep away camp packages and more! Take a look.
How can we help?
Fundraise:
We would love for people to spread the word through social media outlets and to start fundraising. Click here.
Volunteer:
We are continuing to look for volunteers for the day of the event. If you are interested in volunteering, please email event@endallergiestogether.com (note: Use Shoot for a Cure to End Food Allergies in your subject line). Children are welcome to join as volunteers (high school age recommended)
Attend Shoot for a Cure
Join us at on 5/19 and have FUN!!!
About E.A.T
EAT (www.endallergiestogether.com) is an incredible charitable organization that, through funding, strives to accelerate the most promising ideas in food allergy research toward the clinical testing and expansion of shorter-term treatments and longer-term solutions involved in the root causes, triggers and processes of food allergy progression. Click here for more info.
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