ANA Reaction Abroad ... Surviving MY Unthinkable!

[SilverLining]

I am so sorry about her reaction. Relieved she is fine.

It may be that he is afraid of a law suit, but imo that is no reason to be completely rude about it. Did he call to ask how DD was after she went to hospital?

[ctmartin]

Yes, Silver, he did text me the morning after.  I think my big problem is how complacent he was about the whole thing ... even before the reaction and also DURING (when he was trying to tell me that I was just being a neurotic mom!  You think at that point he would have though, "Hmmm ... did I even check these ingredients?  I better do that NOW!").  Also, he was not transparent at all in the aftermath, and we were really freaked out because we figured he had already checked everything and perhaps she had developed a new allergy.  It took me pushing and pushing before I got him to (somewhat) admit that it "could have been the bread and the ccinque cereali flour!"

OMG ... I could KILL him!  Kill!!  These recent fatalities are really tugging at my heartstrings and I am in a really bad place right now, even though I should just be grateful that she is OK.  It's going to take a lot of work for me to move beyond the "what if" that keeps appearing in my nightmares and let go of this.

[GoingNuts]

I totally get that, CT.   

[Ciel]

I'm so sorry, ctm. Nightmares are horrible places to linger. I hope they fade soon so you can begin to find some peace with the events of that day. 

[PurpleCat]

 

[tigerlily]

 

So sorry for your experience, so sorry that it was from a friend. Glad your daughter is okay.

[ctmartin]

Hi, Everyone ... I just wanted to thank you all for your kindness and support.  To all those who responded to my post, and even to those who did not respond but simply took the time to read about our experience ... I appreciate you!  This has always been my "Go-To" spot when I need answers, or even simply to vent.  I try to give support and feedback of my own when I can, and I hope that I have helped at least some of you.

Anyway ... we are in full recovery mode, and I feel it's going pretty well.  We still haven't eaten out yet, but I'm sure that time will come.  Until then, things are slowly returning to normal.  HOWEVER ... I feel there is one more step to my recovery, and I am not sure whether it is worth the effort or not.

I would like to write an honest review ... obviously not of the food from the restaurant, which we did not even get to enjoy anyway ... but of their attitude toward food allergies (obviously they are not very educated and/or as careful as they purport to be).  That's the thing ... given that the owner has STILL failed to respond, I have no idea really what happened or how it happened ... I only know that my daughter had an ANA reaction to sesame in the bread, which is what he has reluctantly admitted.

I have done some research on-line at tripadvisor and other sights and have seen other such reviews ... I feel like I owe it to the food allergy community, but I do not want it to come off as vindictive, even though that is what I am sure it is going to seem like to him.  That is why my daughter does not want me to write anything ... she who looked at me with pleading eyes trying to talk me out of even TELLING him what had happened as it was happening ... AS IF! ... for fear of ruining my friendship with him.

So, I wonder ... would it be enough of a benefit for the food allergy community for me to write a review of warning, or would people just see all of the great reviews (of which he has plenty, which is what would make writing this so hard), and disregard my warning.  What do you all think?

Thanks for being here for us

[slyparrot]

Wow.. I'm glad she's ok now. I have seen so many restaurant workers/owners not taking food allergies serious. If I even sense they are bluffing or give me the "oh, one of these people" looks, I run for the hills.

[spacecanada]

PM me if this is too revealing and you want this deleted:
Was this story published in Allergic Living? I was reading it and it sounded eerily familiar.