Reflecting on my granddaughter and her allergies.

Journaling:
Our home town (well the whole country) has a drug problem. People are dying from illegal drug use of pills that have been tainted with fentanyl. This is a terrible situation and bad for the image of our town, state, and country. People have gotten concerned and demanded that something be done so politicians have responded with making NARCAN® available for free.

This is necessary for the use of emergency personnel who may accidentally come in contact with the drugs. Users however are also given the drug freely so they can save each other, so they can just do it again. They are not even transported to the hospital after receiving the drug if they don’t want to go. Now the politicians brag about how many “lives were saved this week” even though the same person may have been saved 5+ times. I don’t wish death on anyone but it is their choice to put themselves in this danger.

If the government wants to help, why not reach out to that portion of the population that has no choice in their illness. We have a large population that suffers from Diabetes. Many of them require insulin on a daily basis but Americans are sometimes forced to pay over $300 for a vial. This leaves many with a choice of food or medicine.

Another large population suffers from allergies. Have you priced an Epi-Pen lately? The average price of brand-name Epi-Pens is $690 at pharmacies. And if you need one and don’t have one, you die. My grandaughter is one of these people. She is highly allergic to many common subtances like tree pollen, dust, mold, dogs and cats.

She has recently discovered that she is allergic to gluten too. This expalins why she has had such a hard time keeping weight on. Well she has to give up pasta and bread or pay double for so-called substitutes. She can eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables except she is allergic to many of them like radishes, carrots, apples, cherries, pineapples, etc. Well, she can eat seafood right? No they are deadly. What about nuts? No, she can tolerate some peanutbutter but no actual nuts. No soft tacos or breakfast wraps, in fact, pretty much no eating out or fast food. Cross contamination is a real danger.Can you imagine the stress of trying to find food that tastes good, doesn’t cost a fortune, and won’t kill you? And you can’t afford an Epi-Pen?

I think this is a question of priorities. All lives matter but only some are protected by our government. They have allowed these drugs to penetrate our communities and now try to CYA by saving some of the lives. What about the rest? Why not allow a tax rebate for these critical medicines, make Epi-Pens available from your Doctor’s office for free, put free ones in the schools, or even restaurants? Show as much concern for these citizens who don’t have a choice in their diseases.