A world away from medical help on a remote farm, Kate relies on Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia for accurate allergy advice
Seeing your child experience anaphylaxis is distressing for any parent – but when you live on a remote farm with limited mobile reception, that distress is magnified beyond measure.
First-time mum Kate* has found herself in that position more than once this year, as she navigates her baby’s growing list of life-threatening allergies. At just nine months old, her daughter, Zoe, has confirmed allergy to peanut and egg, and suspected allergy to cow’s milk, soy, brown lentils and celery.
Her diagnosis came as a complete shock to her parents, who have no family history of allergies and imagined a life for their daughter spent collecting the eggs, feeding the animals and helping out at the farm shop for pocket money. “I envisioned making the same memories that I have with my grandma, things like making pavlova and licking the bowl,” Kate tells us. “But we won’t be doing anything like that.”
Zoe’s first anaphylaxis
Kate, a nurse, has treated her daughter for anaphylaxis more than three times in her short life. The first was the most frightening, when Zoe broke out in hives, her face began to swell and she displayed signs of low blood pressure after her fourth taste of peanut butter.
“My legs went like jelly,” Kate recalls. “I called the ambulance and ran to the bathroom because I knew to wash her hands and mouth straightaway to remove the allergen, but then it was just like, ‘what am I going to do? I’ve got nothing’.”
An excruciating hour passed before the ambulance finally arrived, but thankfully, Zoe was okay.
Allergy awareness
Kate struggled to find rural health professionals who fully understand the complexities of allergic disease and felt alone and unheard while she waited to see an allergy specialist.
It was then that a friend, a maternal health nurse who lived interstate, suggested she call our National Allergy Helpline.
That phone call proved life-saving when Zoe experienced anaphylaxis for a third time.
The advice that saved a life
Zoe had eaten just a quarter teaspoon of Greek yoghurt with some sourdough toast and avocado for breakfast. About an hour later, she became irritable, sticking her tongue out in a way that struck Kate as unusual.
“It was time for her nap, so I went to into her room to put her down, but then I suddenly remembered the Helpline allergy educator telling me that if I suspected an allergic reaction, to always wait two hours before putting her into her cot, in case she goes into anaphylaxis,” Kate explains.
It was the advice that saved Zoe’s life. Kate turned around and walked into another room, putting Zoe on the ground to play. Minutes later, Zoe’s lips began swelling and turning blue and her eyes rolled back in her head. Kate sprung into action and administered the adrenaline injector. This time, it was 30 minutes before the ambulance arrived and took Zoe to hospital.
“She’s so happy and content, people say, you would never know. But that’s the thing with allergy, it’s invisible. And the stress of it is invisible too”
“I’m just so glad I had called the helpline because otherwise I probably would have put her in for a nap at that point, because it was all food she’s had before,” Kate says. At time of writing it’s unclear whether Zoe reacted to the yoghurt, or if there were traces of her known allergens in the sourdough bread.
Since then, Kate’s reached out to Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia on many occasions for advice, guidance and post-anaphylaxis support – none of which she could otherwise access in her remote location.
“The allergy educators have always been so helpful, validated my concerns and empowered me to advocate for Zoe,” she says. “As a nurse, I’d treated anaphylaxis in hospital, but dealing with allergies every day, and for your own child, is completely different.”
*Names have been changed.
Our 2025 Christmas Appeal aims to shine a light on the burden of allergic disease and bring new hope to families like Kate and Zoe. Allergy doesn’t take a holiday, but you can help lighten the load.
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