A Billingshurst mum whose daughter suffers from a number of allergies is taking on a charity skydive this month.
Published 1st Jun 2023, 14:31 BST
Updated 1st Jun 2023, 14:34 BST
Sarah Myskow turns 40 at the end of June and will be taking part in the challenge in Salisbury for Allergy UK, which is dedicated to helping children and adults with their allergies.
Twelve years ago Sarah’s eldest daughter Lauren was born and during her first year she was diagnosed with eczema and an allergy to cow’s milk and egg.
Allergy symptoms can be mild, but for some people they can be very serious.
Sarah said: “Facing those first allergic reactions was scary and life changing. I still remember the many hours spent in supermarkets checking ingredients and over the years learning a new way of life.”
During early childhood, Lauren went on to develop asthma and allergies to cat, grass and dog and more recently mould and almond. The family has encountered several scares along the way and Lauren is currently on lots of medication to control her daily symptoms, along side many control measures in place at home.
Lauren is due to have further allergy testing to a variety of foods.
Living with allergies has a huge impact on daily life, for example packing a medicine bag including EpiPen’s everywhere you go, having to check all food and non-food products ingredients each and every time as recipes change and different brands vary. Always having to plan ahead, packing safe snacks and meals when eating away from home, good hand washing, remembering cross contamination, not sharing food or drink, not being able to attend playdates/sleepovers at friends or family houses with pets, frequently keeping on top of repeat prescriptions, updating a great number of school medical forms and arranging meetings with school teachers. Then there is booking time off school and work for medical appointments and not feeling confident enough to travel abroad anymore.
But Sarah added: “As an allergy mum, every day is full of anxiety and fear but with some great support around me, we live ‘our normal but different lives’ to the best we can. Lauren is such a beautiful, caring, funny and talented daughter.”
