Food Allergy Hero of the Month: Hemali Gauri
I was first diagnosed with food allergies when I was a toddler. One sunny day in July, while preparing for a neighbor’s picnic, my mother fed me a cake with eggs for the first time, and I threw it up a few hours later. My parents didn’t realize the value of early introduction because they were unaware that food allergies existed. Our pediatrician assured my parents that I would grow out of this allergy by age five and it was nothing to worry about. This, however, was not the case.
Over time, my parents stopped thinking about my allergy. They would feed me eggs in every form; though I never particularly enjoyed eating omelets, I would obey. But when I was around seven, I started breaking out into rashes and hives all over my body. My parents took me to numerous physicians, had a skin prick test and numerous blood tests which turned out to be inconclusive, and even conducted an elimination diet, where they would take out allergens from my diet and track my reaction. In our small town in Upstate New York, we didn’t know anyone with food allergies, anyone who had gone through a similar situation diagnosing food allergies or living with food allergies. This severely hindered our journey: we had to learn much about the social and emotional, as well as the physical, impacts of food allergies without a community. I was diagnosed with an egg and garlic allergy, the latter being an uncommon allergen.
As I grew older, I had to be very careful about what I was eating. My peers didn’t know anyone else with food allergies and would often accuse me of faking it. In one instance, a girl told me she had a milk allergy, and I was really surprised and relieved to find someone who struggled the way I did. A few hours later, I saw her eating a pizza like everyone else, while I was forced to sit out because of my allergies. This made me feel terrible. Looking back, I’ve realized that she probably had a lactose intolerance and wanted to relate to someone too. The ignorance surrounding food allergies and their immense impact on kids’ lives was tough to deal with though.
I went to middle school and then started junior high when the initial COVID-19 pandemic hit. I got a lot of time to think about the impact I was making on my community and had an idea to create a resource for food allergy parents in smaller towns to have access to resources and a community online. I reached out to dozens of food allergy parents and asked them to share their experiences with their kids’ allergies and their tips for future parents. This idea has grown into the website K12Allergies.com. I wanted to expand to include good resources that could help parents in their journey and started researching. That’s when I discovered Red Sneakers for Oakley and the work they are doing in our community through raising awareness. Since then, I have my Red Sneakers key chain hanging on my backpack and explain the reason behind it to anyone who asks. I became an ambassador for RSFO and wear my red shoes to every food allergy awareness event. I’ve strived to continue Red Sneaker’s mission in my community in Northwest Arkansas by helping with a local Halloween event, hosting awareness talks, conducting interviews with local professionals and advocates, and even conducting a food drive to combat food insecurity heightened by allergies (where we donated over fifty pounds of food to the local food bank!). To follow our future advocacy work, find us on Instagram and Facebook @K12Allergies.
I need your help to continue my advocacy efforts! We are collecting food allergy parents’ stories and tips at K12Allergies.com/Share and would appreciate your journey and experiences. If even a single family can relate to your story, take advice from you, it makes all the difference. You can check out previous journeys and connect with those with similar experiences at K12Allergies.com/Explore as well.
