Nicole Della Santina, MPH
VP, Public Health

Nicole Della Santina, MPH

Vice President, Public Health 

In 2002, my second child, Marco was diagnosed with multiple life-threatening food allergies. It was a rude awakening as the process of discovery was a bit of a shock. I was traveling for work and had to give him formula for the first time. He had two quick sips from his bottle of milk-based formula and broke out in hives around his mouth. I remember calling the doctor who said not to worry, he was fine and to make sure to give him milk before his one-year appointment. Regardless, I decided to pump and didn’t feed him any more formula. Right before his one-year appointment, I gave him some milk, as directed, so that I could hit the appropriate milestones prior to his upcoming visit. Unfortunately, it did not go as planned. He had ¼ cup of milk and in the time it took for me to turn around and hang up the phone, Marco went into anaphylaxis. I was not informed or prepared and did not have Benadryl or epinephrine on hand, so instead I panicked and drove to the office with Marco struggling to breathe. We were lucky as Marco recovered from that incident. However, right afterward, I took Marco to an allergist and found out that he was allergic to 16 different foods, so our food allergy journey began. I hired a babysitter so that I could scour the aisles at Whole Foods to figure out what I would be able to feed him and the rest of our family. I was completely overwhelmed and felt very alone. This was in the early 2000’s so information about food allergies was not as accessible as it is today

As Marco entered pre-school age, we began applying for pre-schools, but he never seemed to get in. I always included his food allergies on his application, but I decided to hold off for one preschool to see if that was the challenge. Marco was accepted and I worked closely with the preschool to educate them about his allergies and helped create a safe environment for him and future food allergic students. Unfortunately, we had some challenges with some families that were not happy about the allergy-safe environment that the preschool had decided to undertake. It was a change to the routine for some, and families were not pleased with the request. I had to believe that it was ignorance that led to the charge for this negativity. So, I was determined to get a deeper understanding of Marco’s rights to education, and I began to attend events at national non-profits for families with food allergies. The relationships and information I gleaned from these conferences were extremely helpful and laid the groundwork for the rest of our family’s food allergy experiences. I joined food allergy support groups and began to share my information on Facebook, expanding my relationships and knowledge through my affiliation with every person and their food allergy experiences. It felt like a special club where we could support one another, share recipes, help each other find specialty foods and bond over our experiences both good and bad.

Marco was very sociable, and we never wanted him to be defined by his allergies. Like every parent, we wanted him to have as normal a childhood as possible. So, we had him wear his epinephrine in a fanny-pack around his waist, so they were easily accessible for anyone taking care of him while giving him the freedom to roam and play. He started elementary school and I made sure to train the teachers that oversaw his grade along with any other administration. I created resources for teachers as well as food allergy protocols to ensure not only Marco’s safety but the safety of other children as well. Living in a small town, I knew that Marco might be the first food allergic child, but he would most certainly not be the last. I wanted to do more to help food allergy families, so I became a certified trainer through the PAL program. This increased my credibility beyond “just being a mom” and the schools in our area became more receptive to training, so I started working with entire administrations before the start of every school year. The schools were terrific and overall, Marco had a safe school experience.

Flash forward to the present day, and Marco has outgrown all of his allergies except milk. He is a Nutrition and Physical Fitness major in college over 1,000 miles away and will be graduating in 2024. His personal journey with food allergies has inspired him to help others live healthy lifestyles, especially those with food allergies. I used to worry about Marco going too far from home, but now peace of mind for me, our family, and most importantly Marco, is a true gift. He has learned how to successfully manage his food allergies as a young adult. In the end, I have been inspired by my experiences with Marco and the other health issues my children have endured so I went back to school to earn my master’s in public health, and I can’t wait to make a difference in the lives of other food allergy families. While our food allergy journey is far from over, it is truly a success story.