Comments on: Q & A with Brian Hom

by: Michele

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 05:41:56 +0000

My heart is with you, Hom Family. Thanks so much for sharing your story. I keep hearing about the wonderful research they are doing for peanut allergies, but they are all confined to the in-patient setting due to the risks of anaphylaxis during the research of serving even a fraction of 1% of a peanut. However, it may be years or decades before any cures become available to the public like us. In the meantime, it is so important that the public be educated about food allergies. My son has been allergic to nuts since 13 months old, and we carry his Epipen everywhere (plus at school). Your story inspires me yet again to be more hypervigilant than than just plain vigilant. God Bless you and your family…

by: Anne

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:21:51 +0000

What a tragic story and every allergy sufferer’s parents worst nightmare.
My daughter suffers from multiple food allergies. We moved to from one city to a neighboring town because the schools were very allergy aware and virtually peanut free (I think in a few short years all the schools here will be completely peanut free) But on days that humus is severd in the lunch room my child eats in the nurses office because she is anaphalactic to sesame.
My niece also suffers from severe food allergies. Peanut is at the top of the list. My brother had a very hard time at his school convincing them of the severity. They did not see the harm in having a child eat a pbj sandwich in the same room as his allergic daughter. They thought as long as she did not touch it, she would be fine. So he used this analogy to drive home the point: he told them that the next day his daughter was going to bring a gun w/ the safety on to the classroom and leave it on her desk. If nobody touched it, nobody would get hurt. They (teachers & administration) thought he was going over the top. But he continued his point- he said, “my child is not going to eat some other kid’s sandwich, but should she come into contact w/ peanut butter that is on a shared surface or in the air, it will kill her. You are putting her at just as much risk as a gun in the classroom would. It might not go off, but if it did someone could die.”
After discussing the matter w/ district lawyers they did make her room peanut free but gave parents the opition of switching classes in case they did not want to give up peanut butter sandwiches. 3 kids left.

What we really need to find out as a society is 1) Why the sudden increase in peanut and other food allergies? 2) How can they be cured?

BTW- I never let my daughter eat anything that was not made in our own kitchen. If we go to a resteraunt, we bring her own food and explain the allergy issue. Most places are fine w/ it because even with the best precautions there is ALWAYS a cross-contamination risk factor.

by: Bridget Perkins

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:52:06 +0000

Dear Brian,
I am so so sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine what you are going through. I will pray that God will continue to strengthen you and your family. You have helped so many people already with your story. My son is 5 and has had severe diary and egg allergies. He started kindergarten this year and it was a huge step to let him our of our sight. The more we can tell others just what can happen the more we can help our little ones. I pray too that your younger sons stay safe and those around them continue to be proactive. Thank you for sharing with others what has happened. It means so much to all of us who struggle with various food allergies. May God bless you and your family.
Bridget Perkins

by: Cindy Bis

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:19:36 +0000

Thank you for sharing your tragic story with all of us. My heart goes out to you at this very difficult time. We also have a son who is allergic to peanuts. In fact, our 14 year old son has multiple life-threatening food allergies. He is allergic to all poultry, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, seafood, shellfish, and peas. It is extremely difficult for parents of classmates to understand the severity of his allergies. It is also difficult to find a safe place to stop and eat when traveling with him. We often need to stay with the basics and just give him fresh fruits and vegetables along with a piece of plain pork or beef. Even then, we have to worry about cross-contamination. Our child carries an Epi-Pen twin pack with him at all times (just in case one would mis-fire) and also has several twin packs at school located in each of the different buildings (there are 4 at his high school). We must strive to make our schools safer for our children. Your story is sure to help protect others. Thank You & God Bless.

by: Angela

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:15:19 +0000

To the Horn Family- our prayers are with you all!! our condolences to you and your family. We have two children and both have already had anaphylactic shocks. Our daughter was 22 months old when she had an anaphylactic shock to fish (which I had prepared), I didn’t even know what was happening, we called for an abulance and thank God her own adrenaline kicked in and she came back after some minutes. We then had her tested for food allergies and then discovered she is also allergic to all fish, all nuts, eggs, kiwi, sesame and all legumes. We have an epipen where ever she is. Now she is 4 and half and just started school, I am so scared and worried that I am not there with her. Our son now 2 half also had an anaphylactic shock at 26 months of age, when he ate a small piece of beef. I quickly realized that he was having a shock and I used my daughter’s epipen to help him (as he was already fainting), we immediately called for an ambulance stating anaphylactic shock and they were here within 5 minutes. We had him tested and he is allergic to beef, all nuts, wheat, eggs, and dairy. We really believed that if we had not used our daughter’s epipen, he would have been either brain damaged or not here anymore. Now we also have an epipen for him and I carry 4 epipens at all times. Epipens do save lives. Food allergies are a real situation, and many people do not understand how serious it can be.

God bless your family and may he give you strenght.

by: Jo Baker

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:16:10 +0000

To the Horn Family- our prayers are with you all!! We also have a son who is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts. When he was two years old we found out about it because he had a peanut butter cookie. We have lived in constant fear of him having a reaction. We are always asking restaurants, fair vendors, everyone what kind of oil is used for cooking, do they wash in between servings, it is unbelievable how callous some people can be!! Thank God for FAAN!! But we must make our schools safer for our children. The fear will never go away, we have to teach them how to take care of themselves and always carry the epi-pen with them. Thank you for sharing you tragic story. I can’t even imagine how your life has changed. God Bless you all.

by: Charlene Martin

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:43:54 +0000

My condolences to this strong family. My 18 year old son has severe peanut allergy. He went off to college a few weeks ago and I feel like it is when he went to kindergarten all over again. He is educated about his allergy and knows how important it is to keep the Epi-Pen with him at all times, but I have to remind him sometimes still. He promises to keep it with him always but as a parent I worry and pray each day. Thank you to this family for sharing their story and I can’t put into words my extreme sympathy for them. We must all remain soldiers in the fight to increase awareness and understanding. So many times I get backlash from people who do not understand, just last month at a golf tournament when peanuts were added to every participants bag. There are so many more choices that could have been made.

by: Kelly Tidwell

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:27:13 +0000

My heart goes out to you and your family. It is unspeakable and I cannot imagine what life is like now that this has happened. I am at a loss of words, my deepest sympathies to you and your family.

My son has a Life Threatening Nut Allergy. We found out when he was 3 yrs. old and had an Anaplylactic Reaction. As of that day, our family has lived with the fear of his Food Allergy. Anaphylaxis happened within seconds to minutes of him eating a piece of cashew! My son is now 9 and still remembers that traumatic day. We have carried an EpiPen ever since and also provide one to his school clinic. To me, it is extremely scary when I hear of another family dealing with Food Allergies such as peanuts and still let their kids eat M & M’s. It’s like an injustice to Food Allergies. This confuses the public on the seriousness and truth of Food Allergies for people like my son which makes life even scarier when our son is out of my sight. I hear so many times that people do not believe that Food Allergies are real! I wonder all the time why I have to fight for NO FOOD POLICIES in school for his protection. Also, no one seems to talk about the Bi-Phasis stage of an Analphylactic Reaction which is very important to be aware of. But overall what is scary is when someone does have a Food Allergy and compares or figures that if theirs isn’t serious or handled lightly then you are in the same situation. Unfortunately, this is not true. I wish people would be more educated about the differences in Food Allergies and Food Intolerances so that kids like my son won’t be mistaken as not having a Life Threatening Food Allergy.

By sharing your story, I know that you will save a life - and “Thank You” for opening yourself up and helping out our Food Allergy Kids!

by: Diane Deacon

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:13:37 +0000

My deepest sympathy to you and your family. My daughter has a peanut allergy, and we live in fear that this could happen to us. A few months ago, I read a story about airlines considering the elimination of peanuts from flights, and then I read the dozens of hateful comments following the story. Many, although not all, expressed the feeling that people with allergies should just stay home and not impose their problems on others. It’s very discouraging that people feel that a peanut allergy is just an inconvenience, and that the rest of the world should not be “inconvenienced” by someone with allergies. Some even said “If you can’t be around peanuts, then don’t fly.”

I think we need to be doing more to educate all parents about life threatening allergies, and I think FAAN needs to get into ALL schools nationwide to eliminate allergens. Next, the airlines. We’re banning smoking because of possible cancers due to second hand smoke. Why not peanuts?

by: Rhoda Crabb

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:34:01 +0000

My deepest condolences Brian, may you find comfort and peace in your tragic loss! I appreciate how difficult it may be to share this story , but also feel such gratitude that you have! I too have a son with peanut allergies, JB. He has had 4 pretty bad reactions so far in his 9 years of life; the first two reactions were when we found out that he was allergic to those certain allergies. The other two were because friends and teachers didnt realize or remember about his allergy and gave or exposed him to peanuts. Luckily we were able to get help in time. However I experience something similar to your story; those last two times JB didnt have the redness or the hives that he usually did when exposed to peanuts, his symptoms were simply a sore throat and coughing! It was as if he went from being perfectly healthy to a bad cold within minutes! It took a while to figure out what was going on with him, so a trip to the ER via an ambulance and I now know to look for those symptoms to arrive first. THANK YOU, for sharing your story so that more people are aware of this happening. I have scheduled time in my sons class this upcoming week to talk to the kids in his class about allergies, if I may, I would like to share BJs story very quickly as an example of how serious this is. Again thank you for your willingness to share your story!