Furious/frightened? Speak up and speak out!

pMost of us already know the story really well, so I won't go into details, but I will say that the contents of the following will bring even the most jaded non-pa parent to tears.br /
[url="http://www.krem.com/extra/story.htm?StoryID=9529"]http://www.krem.com/extra/story.htm?StoryID=9529[/url] /p
pDon't let the emotion you feel paralyze you. Every person in this country (statistically speaking) is affected by a severe food allergy, even if it is not pa.br /
The only way to keep ourselves from experiencing this loss FIRSTHAND is to educate every human being alive about what can happen, how to recogize a problem, and what should have been done. This is no time to be shy. Tell your friends and extended family about Nate Walters. Then tell them your own story and show them your epi pen. I was a little afraid of being so, well, "forward" about this, but my early successes have convinced me that nine year old Nate Walters may very well turn out to have saved hundreds of lives if we take the chance to educate./p
pI was too shy and fond of my family's anonymity for too long. I was used to being an expert on Chemistry (I was a prof) but not on kids and health issues. WE ARE THE EXPERTS THAT NEED TO SPEAK UP ABOUT THIS, AND WE MUST DO IT NOW. If we wait, we will have lost the opportunity until another Nate comes along. Whose child will it be? /p
pA little off the subject, I know, but I really think that this is going to have to be done by grassroots motivation. The major agencies and government are pretty much letting us down here. How many of US even knew that May 6-12 was Food Allergy Awareness Week?? The irony is that two children died from severe allergies after this awareness week commenced.br /
Cindy, if you read this, you've got good company when it comes to verbosity, I guess...:-)/p
p[This message has been edited by Corvallis Mom (edited May 24, 2001).]/p