Waiting - and worrying

Monkey's not been well this week.

It's nothing I can really put my finger on. She's just not been her usual self. She always has a cough at night and sometimes a wheeze but this week it's been worse. I don't want to put anyone off their dinner but we've also had quite a few explosive nappies.

Although I never underestimate Monkey's allergies, I like to think I manage to stay quite calm about them. But this week I've been worried.

Luckily Monkey is under the care of the Children's Hospital and they are brilliant. Our dietitian is amazing. I can ring her whenever and know that she will get back to me. So ring her I did...

I phoned on Tuesday when she was in clinic but she got straight back to me first thing in Wednesday morning. Our consultant has retired but she's going to get a new one assigned and an appointment sent out asap. She also wants us to see an allergy nurse so we're waiting for that appointment too.

We're waiting. And we're worrying.

And we're one of the lucky ones. Monkey's allergies are diagnosed. She's under the care of a hospital. We have a plan of how to keep her safe, how and when (not yet!) any reintroduction should be done and what to do if she does have an allergic reaction.

But still we worry...

I can't begin to imagine how much we would worry without that support in place. Yet for many allergy sufferers, that's their reality.

The UK is one of the top three countries in the world with the highest incidents of allergy however according to Allergy UK there are only around 30 allergy specialists working here - that's one for every 700, 000 allergy sufferers!

Did you know?

• In the entire UK, there are only 12 trainee posts for allergy, so that each year only two doctors complete their training as allergy specialists (National Allergy Strategy Group, 2013)
• 50 per cent of children and young people suffer with one or more allergies (Punekar & Sheikh, 2009)
• 21 million adults in the UK have an allergy (Mintel, 2010)
• 90 per cent of sufferers could be managed in their local community. GPs receive little, if any, training in allergy and immunology.
• With just 30 generic clinics in the UK, that’s one for every 700,000 sufferers.

Allergy UK are commited to improving care for allergy sufferers and their families. They have recently launched their nurses appeal which aims to recruit and develop specialist allergy nurses, strategically place them in communities and raise awareness about the reality of living with allergies.

Allergy UK is a charity that means a great deal to us. They were great when Monkey was first diagnosed and continue to be a great support today. We're really excited about this appeal and want to do everything we can to help. Monkey is currently fundraising with her free from picnic and we're hoping to host more events. She'd love your support. You can donate by text or by clicking on the link or support us by spreading the word. Thank you.