6-year-old Hanscom student speaks to congressmen about severe food allergies

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. C. Michaela Walrond
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, one in every 25 Americans has a food allergy, equating to approximately 12 million people in the United States -- of that number, 150 to 200 people die annually as a result. This staggering statistic, along with the increasing rise in food allergies, prompted over 100 children and teenagers to travel to DC. recently, including 6 year-old Hanscom resident Coral Dennison. 

Coral, who has severe food allergies to eggs, peanuts and tree nuts and moderate food allergies to wheat and soy, made the trip with her parents, Major Christopher Dennison, 630th Electronic Systems Squadron Test and Integration Flight Commander, and his wife Dawn, to the Kids' Congress on Capitol Hill where they spoke to various leaders, including representatives from the offices of Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Senator Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), and Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.). 

The event, sponsored by the FAAN -- the world's largest non-profit organization providing food allergy information to a variety of sources -- had the purpose of providing the opportunity for the public to speak to the House and Senate on the rising problem of food allergies, along with addressing the proposal of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2007, sponsored by Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Representative Nita M. Lowey (D-N.Y.). 

Despite her young age, Coral was able to quickly recite the Bill numbers attached to the Act (S.1232/H.R. 2063), along with the reasoning behind it. "The Bill is to help teachers take care of the kids [that have allergies], and keep them safe," she said.
According to the FAAN the Bill would "make available to local educational agencies a voluntary policy to manage the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools." 

"Basically, the Bill was to provide voluntary legislation that schools could pull down when they find they a have child with food allergies, so then they're not just starting from scratch," Major Dennison said. 

Hanscom's Primary School has adopted similar practices that have helped the unique lifestyle that Coral, and other children with food allergies, experience daily. During lunch hour, students that have food allergies are able to sit at a special table that is sanitized and clearly marked between each use. If a snack is brought to class containing food that someone might be allergic to, that student is given an alternative special snack, Coral said. 

Not all schools, however, are as understanding of students with food allergies, and many have not yet adopted guidelines to help with students who are at risk for a reaction, Major Dennison said. "All in all, around here, the Hanscom School has been very good with helping with [Coral's] allergies, but these kinds of federal guidelines would really help in areas that are not as accommodating and teachers and nurses have no resources to draw upon." 

Along with discussing the importance of the Bill, the Dennison's were able to meet other families with children who also have severe food allergies. At the conference, the children introduced themselves, listed the food allergies they had and told about an experience they had as a result of the allergy, said Mrs. Dennison.
When it came time to introduce herself, Coral said she talked about an experience she had back in January of this year when she had an anaphylactic reaction to walnuts, an allergy the Dennison family was not yet aware that she had. 

Most reactions that occur people are not aware that they are allergic to the source, said Major Dennison. "We just happened to have an EpiPen to give her right away because of her egg allergies, otherwise things would have turned out much, much worse," he said.
Because of incidents like these, the families and organizations also attended the event to "ask the Senators for more money to help find out what is causing the allergies," Coral said. 

"Right now we don't know why food allergies are caused and there is no chance for a cure until you know what the cause of the problem is," the major said.
Researchers know what happens to the body when an individual has an allergic reaction, however, they don't know why it happens or why there is a significant rise in the number of children with allergies, Mrs. Dennison said. 

Due to the risk the reactions pose to Coral's life, the Dennison's have had to change their lifestyle - everything from the food they buy and eat at home, to the places they go and the events they attend. 

"It affects every aspect of your life," Maj. Dennison said. 

For parents that aren't aware of how to keep their child safe in school and other programs, implementing the Bill, Mrs. Dennison said, would give parents a resource to help educate their child's other caregivers . "There are parents out there that just don't know where to go to get help when they discover their child has food allergies. Currently, there is no federal site to get information. Most parents use the FAAN Web site," she said.
According to the FAAN Web site, www.foodallergy.org/Advocacy/FAAMA.html, the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2007 "was originally introduced into the U.S. Congress in October, 2005, during the FAAN's first Kids' Congress on Capitol Hill. The legislation earned the support of more than 80 U.S. Representatives, along with a significant number of U.S. Senators." 

However, since the Bill was not passed in 2005, this year's event provided the opportunity to re-introduce it to Congress. 

For more information on the event or the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Act of 2007, visit the FAAN's Web site at www.foodallergy.org.