The Beginning

My name is Lauren, and I am currently a 16 year old junior in high school. As someone who has suffered from severe food allergies to peanuts and other legumes, I jumped at the chance to be a part of an experimental treatment that will be a life changing experience for me and others participating in the study. 

Living with food allergies is a lot like playing a game of Russian Roulette every time you eat. No matter how careful  I am, or how many precautions I take, there is always a chance of accidentally ingesting something that could kill me. Going to restaurants entails a series of interrogations: Does the waiter understand the severity of the problem? Will they accurately convey my concerns to the kitchen staff? Will they understand how to accurately read ingredient lists and allergen warnings? 

Sharing someone's drink is completely off limits. That Reese's Peanut Butter Cup they ate 3 hours ago? Peanut protein is still viable in their saliva. 

But in just 6 months, all the hassle, all the fear, all the anxiety won't be a part of my life anymore. In just 6 months,  all the things everyone gets to take for granted, like where or what they eat, I'll be able to take for granted too. Through the efforts of Stanford Alliance for Food Allergy Research (SAFAR) under the leadership of Kari Nadeau, MD, PHD at Stanford University, I will be able to tolerate 4000 or more milligrams of peanuts. The average peanut is about 240 milligrams, while I begin to react at 6, equivalent to only a few grains of sand. 

This blog will be dedicated to my experiences throughout this study.