Today I wanted to share with you the second episode of our new Allergy Interviews series, where I had the pleasure of speaking with allergy mum Steph and her eleven-year-old son, Will.
Will lives with multiple severe allergies, including pollen and flaxseed, as well having eczema. He champions allergy awareness, completes fundraisers for charity, speaks openly in the media about what life as a child with allergies is like, and refuses to focus on the negative because in his words, what’s the point!
Steph candidly shares all this, as well as her emotional rollercoaster of ups and downs that she experiences as a parent to a child with severe allergies, on their Instagram page @Positivelyallergic.
Watch the full interview below or read through some of the highlights.
“What was it like for you watching your son experience his first allergic reaction?
“Horrendous. It was probably the worst moment of my life. We didn’t know what was going on. We’d had no experience with allergies before this. My husband had the common sense to realise it was an allergic reaction. I’d never seen anything like it. Within a matter of minutes from us walking into the house, his body was swollen with hives and he was coughing and couldn’t seem to catch his breath…It changed everything in that moment.”
Skin prick testing is used as a common method of measuring potential reactivity to common allergens.
What does it mean to be ‘Positively Allergic?’
“When we started on the allergy journey, it was so easy to read the scary headlines and think that’s it, he won’t be able to go out, he can’t have fun with his friends, he can’t go to birthday parties, so Will and I set out to say that it is realistic, there are positives out there. There are of course down moments, and we do share them now and then, but most of the time we always try and put a positive spin to it if we can.”
Their Instagram page @positivleyallergic has a strongly engaged following.
How do you feel about Will growing up and having to take care of his allergies himself?
“Petrified. Truthfully, it’s absolutely petrifying. I have been able to protect him, to be able to make sure that he was always included in activities. We’ve done a lot of work with that. But in the background, we’ve also been preparing him for the fact that he has to take charge of it. So about a year and a half ago, he started carrying his own EpiPens when we go on family days out. His two best friends, their families, all understand allergies and they know what to do in an emergency. We’re kind of forced as allergy parents to know that this day was coming and all we can do is prepare and hope.”
Will & Steph create content about serious topics with a light hearted spin.
Do you have allergy anxiety?
“Anxiety is one of the big problems about having allergies, especially with pollen allergies, because some people think pollen allergies are like hay fever. And it kind of is in a way, but it can take a toll on someone when they can’t go out because of that allergy. And they are just excluded from everything just because they have that allergy… It just sometimes adds up and then you get anxious about everything. And sometimes a bit angry. It has a very big mental effect. You didn’t choose this. You didn’t choose to have allergies. I didn’t choose to have allergies. It’s just fate.”
Will regularly gets involved in events and campaigns where he can create awareness for allergy.
Is there one thing that you wish people knew more about allergy?
“It takes over everything! Where you go, where you eat, who you’re friends with… you know, you’ve got to make sure that you surround yourself with people who actually understand allergies, not just the severity of it, but also what to do if you have an allergic reaction… But one thing you can do is teach them how to use an EpiPen. An EpiPen can save a life and that’s a very important thing to do. That’s why Will and I both thought it’s really important to teach others how to use EpiPens. We’re not going to change the perception on allergies. People will find a reason, a plethora of reasons why allergies exist and try and blame it on other people. But what we’re trying to do is allergy education.”
Will demonstrated how to use an Epipen adrenaline pen as advocate for the allergy awareness movement Red Sneakers For Oakley.
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