HARLINGEN — Imagine being at a child’s birthday party with your 5-year-old.
There are balloons of all colors, cute birthday hats and games of all types.
The children are having a great time.
They’re laughing and playing with the new toys just opened by the birthday boy, your child’s best friend.
But, when the birthday cake is brought out, you have to tell your son it’s time to go.
That’s the reality of life for Kayla and Mac McFarland and their 5-year-old Henry.
Since Henry was 3, the family has battled with his extreme allergy to peanuts and peanut oil.
“We want to advocate for Henry,” Kayla said. We say ‘you are not different, you are OK and you can get through this.’”
They’re advocating for and with Henry with their words and actions.
Driving by their home on the corner of Washington Circle in Harlingen, it is difficult to miss the teal-colored pumpkins next to the front door.
For the McFarland family, the teal pumpkins have a couple different purposes.
The first is as part of the Teal Pumpkin Project that lets people know it’s a home where nonfood treats will be given out on Halloween.
But more importantly and part of that concept is to make people aware of food allergies that children battle against.
Most of the candy given out for trick-or-treating can’t be eaten by children like Henry who suffer from extreme food allergies to things like peanuts, milk and eggs.
Kayla said Henry loves Halloween, but he can’t just go trick-or-treating.
“Our main hope is to get people to try nonfood treats so kids like Henry can trick or treat,” Kayla said. “Just think about it. It is heartbreaking to tell your child he can’t trick-or-treat. He is dealing with it, but as far as us, it is hard to see. It would be great if more people would understand that there are a lot of kids out there like Henry.”
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Many traditional Halloween treats aren’t safe for children with life-threatening food allergies. The Teal Pumpkin Project promotes safety, inclusion and respect of those individuals managing food allergies.
• Provide a non-food treat for trick-or-treaters, such as pencils, erasers, small toys or glow sticks
• Place a teal pumpkin — the color of food allergy awareness — in front of your home to indicate you have non-food treats available.
• Display a free printable sign or poster from FARE to explain the meaning of your teal pumpkin. Log onto www.foodallergy.org for more.
Food Allergy Research & Education works on behalf of the 15 million Americans with food allergies, including all those at risk for life-threatening anaphylaxis.
FARE’s mission is to improve the quality of life and health of individuals with food allergies and to provide them hope through the promise of new treatments.
