The Thing No One Talks About
When you’re diagnosed with food allergies, you’re handed a long list of what you can’t eat, and that’s all people think you have to worry about.
But as a food allergic teen, I learned that there’s more than that. I learned that it’s not so much the food as it is the feeling of disconnect from those around you.
Something magical happens when you share food with others. There’s a bond that forms over pizza with your friends or ice cream with your family. But with food allergies, you can’t go out with friends and order whatever you want. You can’t go to Thanksgiving at grandmas and eat the same pie as everyone else. Everybody eats the fun food over here, and you eat your top 9 free safe snack over there.
Before I graduated OIT, I definitely felt like an outsider. I knew it was for my own safety, but going on vacation and only getting to eat the dairy free ice cream made me feel just a little like a freak.
OIT provided me with more than safety from reactions. It opened the door back to a full sense of community.
The summer after I graduated, I went on vacation with my family and tagged along to our big grocery store haul to stock our AirBnB with food. Standing in the ice cream aisle, I realized I had my Ollie t shirt on. I gazed at my reflection in the freezer door in front of the vegan section. A wave of gratitude swept over me and I snapped a photo so I would forever remember that moment.
Now, remember, food allergies don’t make you a freak, and there are more ways to connect with others than simply food. But if you’ve had this feeling rattling around your heart, don’t worry, you’re not alone.