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Tuesday, October 6, 2009 9:00:38 AM
From:
Lisa & Bruce Smith
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To: Kerri Benedetti
Cc: Bruce
Kerri & Don,
We come to you as parents of a child with a deadly peanut allergy. If our daughter comes into contact with peanuts or products containing peanuts, we only have a certain amount of time to save her life (see attached article), We have been told by her doctor and the fire department the speed bumps do slow response time. Have you ever seen anyone in anaphylaxis shock? It is very scary.
No person on our street has ever died from a speeder. Our daughter could die if the emergency response vehicles can't reach her in time. You two have children. Please put yourselves in our shoes. We know this is our burden to bear, but could you really feel good about putting in speed bumps if it risks a child's life?
http://www.peanutallergy.com/anaphylaxis-and-anaphylactic-shock.html
Lisa & Bruce Smith
Lisa and Bruce,
ReplyDeleteWe totally understand as we also have a son that is at risk of anaphylactic shock.Our son however cannot control his environment as your daughter can. Our son has allergy to bee stings which of course we all know bees are everywhere and have free will. My cousin also has the peanut allergy so like Mitchell he carries the epi pen. I would imagine your child does as well. I believe that the chances of a person with an allergy that is environmentally controllable such as food probably lives in an environment that is free of the allergen. I would guess that the incidence of the fire department responding to these types of calls to the home once a family is aware of the allergy are rare. Has this occurred? I would be more afraid for my child out in the world -school, bakery, restaurant, plane, bus amusement park somewhere like that which of course is the fear for our son. I am not trying to downplay your fears I am simply saying that it is one bump within roughly 100 feet from your home.
Answer to your question about speeders hitting children-Our son was a very near miss as a small child on his bike. Last week a small boy veered into the street as my son did to get around a car as a truck was speeding along in the direction which the boy was not visible to driver. His parents lectured him. It was a scary moment for them and myself. Several of us have had animals hit. Thank God we have not had a child hit. I would never want anyone to be endangered. Especially a child. I am a new grandparent so another generation of Webster's (the fifth) will be on this street. I want to help make it a safer place I hope you will too. Kerri Benedetti see below for some statistics
When One Bee Sting is Your Last
Are You One of 4.5 Million Americans Who Could Die From a Bee Sting and Don't Know It?
By MOMO ZHOU
July 23, 2009span>
Millions of Americans live out their lives unaware that they are severely allergic to bee and wasp stings, so much so that a single sting can send them into anaphylactic shock and cause death.
Bee stings can threaten summer outings and everyday life to some.g
If you?ve ever been stung by a bee, it seems like a minor issue. Your skin itches, reddens and swells, but the pain subsides in a week or so. For some, however, bee stings can threaten summer outings and everyday life.
(Getty Images)
That was apparently the case for Ray Shaw, a former Dow Jones & Co. president and Wall Street Journal publisher, who died last week at the age of 75. His family said he had no known allergy to stings, yet he was found dead in his garage from a single wasp sting.
College freshman Helen Tobin has practically grown up with an EpiPen in her pocket after suffering multiple severe allergic reactions to bee stings.
The 18-year-old from Des Moines, Iowa, was stung for the first time when she was only 4 when a bee sting on her neck made it swell to the size of a "balloon."
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She has been stung four times since, and was never formally diagnosed with having a venom allergy, but was immediately prescribed the autoinjector, EpiPen, a dosage of epinephrine used as emergency treatment for life-threatening allergic reactions.
"When I get stung, the feeling is just panic because I don't know exactly how my body will react," Tobin said.
According to government statistics, about 3.3 percent of adults will experience anaphylaxis after an insect sting and there are 40 to as many as 100 deaths annually from insect-sting-related anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe type I hypersensitivity allergic reaction in humans and other mammals.
Dr. David Golden, associate professor in the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at Johns Hopkins University's Medical Institute, told ABCNews.com it's "nearly impossible" for someone to die from being stung the very first time, although any sting can trigger the development of the allergic sensitivity.