Here’s the letter that Gavin Meyers’ parents sent to teachers, administrators, and the school nurse to introduce them to their son and his food allergies.

Dear School Staff,
Our son Gavin has a severe allergy to peanuts and all other nuts. We are asking you to help keep Gavin safe from any possible crisis.

We would like to have the school ask parents not to pack lunches with nuts in them. We are asking that this be a school policy. This would also include no nuts in snacks for special occasions such as birthdays and holiday parties; no peanut butter and jelly sandwiches provided by the cafeteria; and no snacks with nuts provided by the cafeteria.

If someone should bring a food containing nuts to school, we are asking that they wash their hands after eating and before playing. The residue from these foods and the particles left behind can cause Gavin to react with respiratory distress. Also, very importantly, we ask you to make sure that all of Gavin’s classmates wash their hands before entering the classroom (before school begins, after lunch, and any other time they handle food).

In the event that Gavin should, after all precautions are taken, have a reaction, here are some things you are likely to see. Usually his face will be covered with hives; commonly he will complain his throat feels funny (he will sound different); vomiting is very likely. He has had lip and tongue swelling on occasion. The reactions are not always the same. If any of these symptoms occurs, someone must call 911 immediately, give Gavin two teaspoons of Benadryl, and use the Epi-kit Jr. We will go over the procedure for administering the Epi-kit with you, and the instructions with diagrams are in the box.

We are trying to provide Gavin with the opportunity to be like his peers, to enjoy socializing with them during lunch and other activities. At the same time, we recognize the seriousness of our child’s food allergies and are thusly proposing this no-nut policy.

We are looking forward to meeting with you, and we pray we can avoid any unpleasant health issues with Gavin by applying simple measures.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Paul and Kathy Meyers

This article was featured in the Fall 2003 issue.
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