How to Succeed in Sending Your Food Allergic Kid to Camp [without really trying]

We've posted so much on here about bad experiences with people not "getting" food allergies we thought it's high time we posted a good one.  Fortunately, we have a success story to share today. 

What follows are simple steps you'll probably find on many food allergy advocacy sites.  And you should definitely check out that info at Food Allergy Initiative,  Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis or Best Allergy Sites. 

But if you want to hear from someone who went through it, read on.  The hard part is finding people that cooperate.  Hopefully, this will show how easy it should be and how we're not asking that much of the camp.  Kid is enrolled, mom happy, and camp comfortable they are prepared.  A win for everyone.

So here are the steps we took for mini. 

Mini specifically requested a camp with as little swimming as possible

1.  Found a camp close by where the kids bring their own lunch (we are probably at least a couple of years away from being comfortable sending her to a place where we can't control the food she eats)
2. Narrowed the options down to ones that are nut-free (fortunately, most of them are these days!)
3. Visited the camp in December to speak to a person face-to-face regarding their food allergy policies.  After they reassured this neurotic mother they take it very seriously, have all counselors trained on epipens just in case of emergency, and will work with me to make me comfortable, we were sold!
4. Spoke with the camp director in early May to talk about her allergies in detail.  Sent them emergency instructions, signs and symptoms, as well as a list of snacks that are safe for her to eat.  Made an appointment to meet in person before camp.
5. Came in to talk to camp director.  Gave the counselors a pouch to carry with them wherever she is.  Pouch has epipen, 2 benadryl packets, and an index card with emergency contact info and list of allergens with quick reminder to call 911 in case of emergency.  Gave another epi to the camp director to keep as backup.
6. Went to their closet to look at all the snacks they give the campers.  Approved 50% of them as "safe". This was possible because the camp director checked before she went shopping and went out of her way to buy the brands that are safe (for example, we typically stay away from generics).   Gave them giant boxes from costco with safe, comparable alternatives that they could give her or any other kid.  Bonus: mini got to meet her counselors, which made her a lot more comfortable on her first day of camp.  Double bonus: she gets used to seeing the preparation involved, setting her up to know how to handle this on her own as she gets older.  
7. Reviewed and agreed on "accomodations": 

• Epi will always travel with her 
• Note will be sent to parents of kids in her group requesting they voluntarily choose to not send in sesame due to severe allergies in the group
• The kids will eat over disposable paper tablecloths so no table washing required
• Everyone will wash hands after they eat
• If the kids are having a snack she can't, they will give her a safe, comparable alternative
• When her group goes to cooking (twice a week), a counselor will take her to another group where she will do an extra dance class instead.

Now you tell us, on a "pain in the ass" scale, where does this go?

1. So easy it's like butter
2. A little effort but not that big a deal and worth it
3. A royal pain in the ass: counselors and parents will protest the inconveniences
4. I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole!

Yeah.  We thought so.


 
So there you have it.  A good camp experience in six months or less.  Frankly, we see no reason for any camp or school experience to be any less smooth.  All it takes is a few open-minded peeps.
 
So thanks, awesome camp, for being quite awesome and putting up with a few minor inconveniences in exchange for our jaw-dropping tuition and an appeased neurotic mother.  Today, like any other kid, mini came home as one very happy camper.

The Frog and the Crab

One hot summer day, a certain woman we know went to a quiet swimming pool to cool off. A city dweller herself, she had spent a long summer cooped up in a humid, concrete island. Not that the weather mattered. With her work hours she spent more time on airplanes or under fluorescent lights than in the beautiful sun anyway.

This pool was her reward. And there it was. After days of gray nearly ruining her vacation she finally got her one perfect day, the one she had been waiting for all summer. 85 degrees and sunny, not a cloud in the sky, nothing to hear but birds and crickets, and the pool was all hers.

Except it wasn't.

This guy had gotten there first:

Did we mention she was a city dweller? Not exactly the kind to rave about living in harmony with "nature's gifts". More likely, in fact, to squeak. Or squeal. Something like that. We have a vague memory of something that sounded like an "eek, get it out!", but we're not quite sure.

So after a couple of minutes with a pool net thingie (apparently they're called "skimmers") Poker husband removed said frog from the pool. She prepared herself to get over the drama and go for a calm swim while everyone else in the house was still sleeping.

No sooner had she put her toe in the water long enough to feel how warm and lovely the pool was, she saw this guy:

See how creepy he looks?

He was about to attack her foot but she got out just in time. Again, Poker husband came down with the net thing ("skimmer"? really?). But unlike the poor frog who was DOA (apparently he was not aware he was biologically unprepared for chlorine), the crab was very much alive. So every time he got caught he quickly jumped back into the pool. It took much longer to get him out and back on sand.

We don't really need to tell you that she didn't feel much like swimming after that, do we?

What to watch when the writers strike

Here's a list of movies Poker Chick has watched recently. Please to contact her for reviews if interested.

1. Avenue Q - OK, not a movie but she saw it for the second time because it's so friggin' hilarious.
2. Waitress
3. Superbad - took waaaay too long to finally see that.
4. Last King of Scotland
5. Juno
6. Yuma 3:10
7. Into the Wild
8. The Holiday
9. Winnie the Pooh (the original!)
10. Night at the Museum
11. There Will Be Blood
12. Because I Said So
13. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
14. The Queen (it was yukkers)
15. The Jungle Book
    
16. The Darjeeling Limited.  Awesome.

*Poker Chick assumes no responsibility for readers' tastes. If you actually follow one of her recommendations and do not enjoy it, well - it's your own fault, pip.