I became involved with the FASGMN (Food Allergy Support Group of Minnesota) after my daughter was diagnosed with multiple food allergies at 1 year. Her allergist recommended this group and I was so glad he did. Although our allergist attempted to discuss areas to increase our knowledge in for care of a child with food allergies, my husband and I really started to become more comfortable with the care we provided once we became members of FASGMN. FASGMN promotes advocacy, and as parents of a child with a disability, this is the area that we discovered needed constant attention in order to assure our daughter's safety.
I first became involved in the Buddy program at FASGMN, which helped me begin to understand the varying areas that needed attention, including planning for activities that didn't involve just meals.
The FASGMN website provided our family with a wealth of knowlege that promoted advocacy for our child's daycare, our family, and our community. I began to feel more confident in caring for our daughter because of my involvement in FASGMN and then this is when I applied to be a Board member.
Since my membership in the board, I have become actively involved in the YES Group, which is a wonderfully supportive group which works to promote relationships amongst children with food allergies. Through this groups activities, the children build bonds over their common personal experiences of dealing with food allergies. For example, the children have had group activities that focused on dealing with food allegies in their school and at their friends' birthday parties. I think this organizations work is invaluable to the food allergy community in Minnesota.
With the increase in severe food allergies in recent years, the educational information and services provided by The Food Allergy Support Group of Minnesota (FASGMN) are life-saving. Children long to grow up in healthy, normal ways so they can enjoy life to the fullest. FASGMN provides the information and strategies to parents, teachers and caregivers so that kids are able to lead happier, healthier and more normal lives while dealing with severe food allergies. Thank Heavens they do what they do!
My son has mulitple severe food allergies. We discovered FASGMN after our son had an anaphylactic reaction at 4 months old. We finally had a diagnosis as to what was medically wrong with our child, but we were left to figure out the rest ourselves. That's where FASGMN comes in...they teach you how to live with food allergies. Along with great services like support group meeting, food-free family events and the annual resource fair, they also connect you to other families with food allergies so you don't feel so alone in your journey. I have learned a lot from this organization and am very grateful for the support.