A couple of days ago I was browsing through a food allergy message board and read a story from a mom whose child had recently had an allergic reaction while at school. While the mom was happy with how the school staff responded and followed the child’s Action Plan (gave EpiPen, called 911, then called the mom) she realized that she had no contingency plan set up for what would then happen regarding her other children.
While we mostly focus our time, energy, and thought into setting up the plan of action for the school to take, do we tend to forget the other factors involved when one of our children has an allergic reaction?
For example…
· Who will pick up your other children at the school, bus stop, or home? Perhaps a neighbor, close friend, or family member? Make a list of people you can rely on to pick up your other children and go over the emergency plan with them.
· Do any of your other children have food allergies? Be sure these friends or neighbors also know what to do in case of an allergic reaction!
· Have all contact phone numbers entered into your cell phone so you aren’t frantically looking through a phone book or trying to remember someone’s number while riding in the ambulance or at the hospital when all you really want to be doing is giving all of your attention to your frightened child having the allergic reaction.
· Give a list of these contacts (with their permission) to the school in case they need to call someone to pick up your other children for you.
· Who will pick you up and drive you home from the ER if you rode in the ambulance with your child? Unfortunately sometimes we are not able to reach our spouses while they are at work.
Can you think of anything else we should be thinking about for an emergency plan? Please feel free to leave a comment!
