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by Ruth Hill, The Dominion Post One in five Kiwis have allergies and for most the symptoms are merely irritating - but for some, they are potentially deadly. Tomorrow is five-year-old Aimee Chong's first day at school and she couldn't be more excited. However, for her parents, Nicola Clissold and Thomas Chong, who have spent seven months preparing for this day, it is terrifying. "I would love to be a normal mother who just drops her kid off at school and waves goodbye ... but I can't do that," says Ms Clissold. Simply touching a toy or a door handle contaminated with invisible traces of dairy, wheat, nuts, citrus fruit, potatoes, fish or another forbidden food could trigger a life-threatening reaction for her child. Ms Clissold has been working with Island Bay School since October to ensure the environment is safe for Aimee. A teacher-aide will sit with her at morning tea and lunch. It would be impossible to ban all the foods to which Aimee is allergic, so instead the school has made her classroom a "food-free zone". Click here to read the story. |