Press Update on Dr. Wood, direct from Johns Hopkins Children Center

I think it's "terrific" that the media is now consistently requesting medical facts from one of the world's leading experts in allergy research when writing articles on this very specific topic.  

Please also help spread the word about an upcoming golf tournament in Howard County, MD to benefit Dr. Wood's research - say no more, I'm there! Can't wait to say to the husband, "Honey can you watch the kids for awhile, I need to go to the range" HA!  

Indoor allergies

Wall Street Journal:
Is Your Kid Truly Allergic? Tests Add to Food Confusion
- "Are these blood tests being overused? Possibly. Misinterpreted? Absolutely," says Robert Wood, director of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at Johns Hopkins Hospital, who is part of a task force writing guidelines for diagnosing and managing food allergies.


___________________________________________________
Also, following is a great piece on Mary and Garret Hess, who have generously offered to help support Dr. Wood. Please help us spread the word about their book:

Investing in Food Allergy Research for an Allergy-Free Adulthood

January 04, 2010

           

Mary Hess

Mary and Garrett Hess are donating 45% of their proceeds from the sales of author Mary’s book, The Day I Met the Nuts, to pediatric allergist  immunologist Robert Wood to help him move closer to a cure for the peanut allergy that threatens their young son and thousands like him. A noted expert in the science and treatment of peanut and other food allergies, Wood spoke, last fall, at a Food Allergy Support Group meeting, in northern Virginia, that the Hesses attended.

“He was awesome,” says Garrett Hess. “There was nothing he didn’t know about food allergies in general. When Mary and I got home, we said we needed to do everything we could to fund research, to push toward a cure, so that one day our 6-year-old won’t have to deal with this in adulthood.”

Published in 2009, The Day I Met the Nuts is the first title of the Hesses’ new venture, Earth Day Publishing. Its website dishes out a video preview of the tale of a youngster learning to live a full and healthy life in the absence of tree nuts. Future titles, says Garrett Hess, will continue a focus on helping children and families take charge of challenging situations and thrive.

Director of the Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at Hopkins Children’s, Wood  is conducting numerous studies in the field of food allergy and predicts that we are 10-20 years away from a treatment for food allergies that would allow patients to eat the foods to which they are allergic. The Hesses’ “terrific” investment in food allergy research at Hopkins Children’s, via their book sales, he says, is “another great example of a creative way to give. All such donations can be put to immediate use.”

To purchase The Day I Met the Nuts, visit: www.earthdaypublishing.com

______________________________________________________

As always, thank you for your continued interest and support of Dr. Wood. Every dollar counts and greatly impacts Dr. Wood’s important work in the field of allergy and immunology. THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all who continue to loyally donate and continue to think of creative and meaningful ways to partner with Dr. Wood.  Remember, all ideas are welcome.

Warm regards,

Jennifer

ps: please email me if you are interested in helping to organize a golf tournament in the Howard County, MD area on behalf of Dr. Wood.

Jennifer Balzano

Sr. Associate Director of Development

Johns Hopkins Children's Center

100 N. Charles Street, Ste. 200

Baltimore, MD 21201

410.516.4513 phone

410.516.8003 fax

Please help Hopkins Children’s remain a place of hope, cures and compassion. Individual contributions help us continue our mission of improving the health of sick children through excellence in patient care, teaching and research. Individual gifts support various programs, services or research projects – all of which benefit our patients and their families. You can make a gift now by visiting www.hopkinschildrens.org.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HopkinsKids

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/hopkinschildrens

FAAN Seeks 2010 Fairfax Walk Chair

This is a great opportunity for someone in the local area to take on a role in food allergy advocacy!  My vote is in for Lake Fairfax - a nice bordering park between Fairfax and Loudoun Counties.  Let's wish them a successful Walk year!

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) has had another great year!  In fact, we are already looking forward to another stellar year in 2010 as we continue to grow and expand our FAAN Walk for Food Allergy program.  In 2009, the program raised over $1.9 million to advance FAAN’s mission and joined together more than 19,000 people across the country to show their support for food allergy awareness and education.

I am very pleased to announce that we are once again planning to host a FAAN Walk for Food Allergy in Fairfax. FAAN’s Walk for Food Allergy has been a huge success across the country, in large part because of the leadership and commitment of the volunteers who participate on the Walk Committees. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have lost our local leadership for the event. We are fully committed to the Walk in Fairfax and find that local participation in the planning & fundraising efforts is invaluable. FAAN is excited about having a Walk in your area, and is seeking additional local leadership to ensure success.

What is required of a Walk Chair?

• Work with the FAAN staff to recruit committee chairs to assist with sponsorship, recruitment of teams/walkers, logistics, publicity, or work with volunteers on task lists
• Work with the committee chairs to oversee the success of the Walk
• Have a team participate in the event
• HAVE FUN; knowing that you are doing this to make a difference in children’s lives by raising funds to find a cure and educate others

Please let me know if you or someone you know is willing to chair or co-chair the event.
Moving Toward a Cure,

Andrea Bartlett
Event Coordinator
703-563-3083
abartlett@foodallergy.org

Get The Map Out - The Indigo Girls (Taking Opportunities Part 2)

Sometimes post ideas come to me all broken up into pieces and out of the blue, I'll hear or see something that puts it all into place.  How does it work for you?  Where do you get your creative inspiration?  It's a nature thing for me - SNOW! 

So just as I was pulling up to my local coffee shop to relax and take a breather fireside with caramel latte I heard on XM Radio Coffee House this beautiful song by the Indigo Girls.  It brought the broken pieces together for me referring to my previous post on taking opportunities.  Be happy with where you are and see positives in the challenges we face.  Maybe it's all for a reason, enjoy the ride.

Why do we hurtle ourselves through every inch of time and space I must say around some corner
I can sense a resting place
With every lesson learned a line upon your beautiful face
We'll amuse ourselves one day with these memories we'll trace
Get out the map get out the map and lay your finger anywhere down
We'll leave the figuring to those we pass on our way out of town


After the trip, I remembered early on after diagnosis seeing a piece of writing about special needs families that spoke so well about how life hands you surprises and although adjusting to them is difficult, you can be blessed with the challenges.  We still have choices.  Positive or negative thinking are those choices - which do you choose?  What do you want your kids to choose?

Welcome To Holland
by Emily Perl Kingsley
©1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved. Article printed with permission of the author.
 
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel.  It's like this......
 
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy.  You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum.  The Michelangelo David.  The gondolas in Venice.  You may learn some handy phrases in Italian.  It's all very exciting.
 
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives.  You pack your bags and off you go.  Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
 
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy!  I'm supposed to be in Italy.  All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
 
But there's been a change in the flight plan.  They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
 
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease.  It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language.  And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It’s just a different place.  It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy.  But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips.  Holland even has Rembrandts.
 
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.  And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever  go away...because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
 
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

How do I tie Italy and Holland together in my own life?  What the Dog Saw  (Malcolm Gladwell) and a poem from my Sister in Law...a native to Holland (The Nederlands).  She shown us the beautiful culture of the Dutch people.  Through our experience and sharing knowledge, she's grateful for her renewed passion for better health in her own children that is close to her European upbringing.  Another bit of culture she's brought to our family is at Christmas time, where the Dutch actually use creative writing to accompany gift giving in form of poetry that is more regarded than the gift itself.  Whoa!  How would that go over in your American family?  We have not succeeded in getting each family member to write poems, maybe next year, but she does provide one to her "Secret Santa".  So, that was me this year!

The book, I haven't made a ding in yet (except the ketchup piece did catch my eye!), but the poem I will always remember...I still get choked up revisiting it.

Dear Maria,

Life gets busy, time can fly
Sometimes all that's safe on the menu is a lousy french fry.

Cooking, traveling, living allergy free
Do you often wonder "Why me?"

A well deserved trip is coming up; foot loose, fancy free
A trip without worries or responsibility.

Instead of reading medication directions or labels on food
This Santa hopes to put you in a more relaxing mood.

And maybe even inspire you in other ways
As writing instead of reading is how you might want to spend your days.

Blowing new life into your great blog
Helping others out of their "life with allergy" fog.

Either way, it seems totally fair
That in a couple of weeks you will "Eat, Drink, Live" with Italian flair.

Enjoy your trip!
Your Secret Santa

 

Touring, Shopping...

 

and did I mention eating!

...so Italy or Holland, I'm happy in either or both!

Mock Hummus/Spread

Allergy Friendly Dip & Spread!  A new creation that is all mine :)  It is milk, egg, peanut, tree nut, soy legume, garlic free.  Vegan/Raw diet friendly.  Shown here is cilantro, but also in roasted red pepper and plain.

I have been able to use this for party dip, wraps and in cooking as dairy replacement.

 

How to make it?  More info coming soon! 

Loudoun Allergy Network Meeting, Wednesday, January 27th

Free and open to public

Please join us for our next meeting:

"Time To Talk" for children with food allergies, Winter Session at Graydon Manor, Leesburg
Speaker: Heather Barto, LPC
Wednesday, January 27th
7-9pm
Loudoun Hospital Center
Conference Rooms A&B (Across from Birthing Inn in back of Hospital)

General Support will be provided from 8 - 9pm
Topics to include: Products, Websites, Books, Valentine's Day tips, FAAN Conference Registration and invitations to teachers/school staff, 2010/2011 school year planning tips


Meeting held at:
44045 Riverside Parkway
Leesburg, VA  20176
(Area map and interactive directions)
(Campus map)
703-858-6000
888-542-8477 (toll-free)

Please RSVP on Yahoo Group listed on this site OR for more infomation, Maria Hardy at 1loudounmom@gmail.com

2010 FAAN Conference Announced!  
Saturday, March 27th, Baltimore 
Don't miss this YouTube Video from other Parents on the benefits of attending this conference!  


Visit our website for more information!

Thank you Dr. Oz (via BestFoodAllergysites.com)

Best Food Allergy Sites posted this great clip on Dr. Oz today who covered the phases on anaphylaxis.  This is especially hard to post at the moment due to my previous post, but it is about awareness and education.  If it doesn't come through right away, wait a moment and it will load.

Dr. Oz admits he manages a life threatening bee sting allergy and has "lived through this"  Wow.  One of the best demonstrations of the stages of an allergic reaction and how to treat it.  This clip doesn't show that after Epi pen treatment, one should ALWAYS call 911 for transportation to the nearest emergency room and at minimum 3-4 hour monitoring period under a physician's care.

Taking Opportunities Part 1 of 2

Buon Giorno! Good morning!

So they say just get started right?  Writing about something.  I was supposed to participate last night in a Blog Carnival, managed and hosted by some ladies who have it way more together than I do, Food Allergy Buzz, Best Allergy Sites and Rational Jenn,  but I didn't make it.  Passed out again.  It's hard to get back into the swing of things after a few days "off duty."  But I'm still enjoying it :)

OK so, I didn't intend to leave my blog for this long, but since Thanksgiving, I was making final arrangements to join my husband on a once and a life time (well, for me, that is) business training trip to Venice, Italy!

It wasn't easy.  I almost canceled on him twice.  The what if's of E's care were paralyzing at times, and for the first time ever, fear of flying due to the December 25th terror attempt.  I was so angry at those bastards!  But I did it, and certainly not alone by any means and I intend to share in the next few weeks on how I and my family made this happen for us.  This was a win-win for everyone involved.  And thanks to the TSA, Paris security and Venice security, our traveling was very safe and reassuring, any and all extra measure we went through was worth it.

Don't miss out on amazing life opportunities due to any special care need you are responsible for when just a well planned action/care plan can be put in place and when others are willing to help out.  Of course, I worried and being away was hard, but I allowed myself some fun!  Take at look at some shots of my trip:

Here I am at the food market...of course this was part of my site seeing! :)  Look at what else I found...

Beautiful fresh greens and they were so pleased when I complimented their products (unfortunately I couldn't buy anything because we were staying in a hotel!)

And having a little fun with the fisherman...or wait were they having some fun with me?  I was happy to partake anyways! ;)

My favorite food memory - this is hard, as it was all delish, but our French colleagues recommended a bistro located just next to our hotel and on the tasting menu - homemade ravioli, stuffed with pumpkin, flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg (maybe), topped with tomato and marscapone and served with grilled polenta triangles - OMG!  All the vegans will love this ;)

Going to Italy to take the opportunity for a new experience is an extreme example, but if you haven't take time with your husband or another family member for a "time out" for you, do it, even if it's just for a few hours. 

Now can someone tell me how to get my kids back on a healthier menu plan now we are home instead of the basic "survival menu" of meatballs, spaghetti, chicken hotdogs and turkey sandwiches please?  But then again, what's wrong with that?

Donate Online to Dr. Wood's Committee For A Cure "Non-event"

You can now donate online to Dr. Robert Wood's Committee For A Cure!

It is a general donation site for Johns Hopkins Medical Center, so please describe your donation is for "allergy non-event" so they can better track the success of this event.

A Tax ID should be available shortly in case you are interested in an employer matching program!

Happy Holidays!

The Committee for a Cure "Non-Event" by December 17th

Mark Your Calendars for December 17th!

Your Invited to a "non-event"...

A few weeks ago I posted information on a meeting with Dr. Robert Wood of Johns Hopkins Children's Center held to inform the food allergy community and it's supporters about his ground breaking, exciting progress on finding a cure for food allergies.  As he is getting ready to start the first peanut study, these are first of it's kind clinical trials this is changing lives of children right now!

Last year, a small group of parents formed, The Committee for a Cure, which held a fund raiser to help Dr. Wood in his research efforts.  The response was fantastic and they are now reaching out to the greater food allergy communities in our local region.  These efforts are directly impacting the progress he can have in finding a cure for our children.  Please consider making a donation based on the information provided below.  Dr. Wood was able to attend last year's actual event and will be able to attend future annual events for his research purposes.  If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting with him personally, he is an incredibly gracious and personable educator.

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, we held our first annual "Committee for a Cure" fundraiser last year
to support the research efforts of Dr. Robert Wood and his team at Johns Hopkins Children's Center.  We hope to continue this annual effort; however, because of the economic issues
this past year, we felt it would be best to have a "non-event" this year -
allowing you to participate without purchasing a ticket to attend an actual event. This way, every dollar
will directly benefit Dr. Wood's research.  We believe together we can make a
difference and that small donations, when given by many, can have the greatest
impact and will help expedite the speed at which this research can be done. We
hope you and your family has a healthy and happy holiday season and look forward
to seeing you at our 2010 event!

Please remember that any and all donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE and great appreciated!

Warmly,
The Committee for a Cure

Please respond by DECEMBER 17th!

Suggested donation amounts:
$50 - I will participate by staying home, putting on sweats and eating leftovers!
$100 - My significant other and I will participate by staying home and catching up on recorded episodes of our favorite show!
$300 - Our entire family will participate by staying home, making popcorn and having a family game night
$500 - I will participate and wish to show my support by purchasing a "non-table" for my friends and co-workers

Your consideration is appreciated and let's wish them a successful "non-event" 2009!!!  You can also participate in this event on Facebook.

Any gifts donated should indicate your support of Dr. Robert Wood.

Please mail directly to:
Johns Hopkins Children's Center Development Office
100 N. Charles St, Ste 200
Baltimore, MD 21201

For more information, Please contact Jennifer Balzano at 410-516-4513.

Happy Holidays and keep the hope!!!

Rice Krispies Snowman Activity - Allergen friendly!

Who doesn't love Ben Franklin craft store?  They always have the best things and not only that, they are located right next to Leesburg Pharmacy!  Great craft and gift shopping in one center :)

I found this little activity kit gem at Ben Franklin and it's by Kellogg's.  Only contains: Soy.  Soy oil and lecithin that is, which like us, many soy allergic individuals can have.  Please refer to your physician's guidance for your own use.

This will be a perfect Thanksgiving day activity and they can have this for dessert.  So cute with kid and adult instructions.  Comes with Snowman pan, marshmallow, icing, edible color palette, brushes and Rice Krispies!  Makes 2 Snowmen :) $9.99 per box.

 

It's been so hard to keep our little mits off it, but hopefully we'll be able to hold off until tomorrow to make the treats and decorate on Turkey Day!

Enjoy!