ABOUT
Hi! My Name is Anne, I am the mother of two wonderful kids, Louis, the 3-year-old little boy who inspired this website, and Manon, my 7-year-old daughter, and best partner in this journey.
When I became a mom 7 years ago, a few months after we moved from Paris, my hometown, to Los Angeles, I had no idea that I had just embarked on the most challenging journey of my life. At the time, as a consultant in corporate strategy, I worked very long hours, and my stress and fatigue were high..., but they were only job-related (which I found out later-on to be much easier to manage than the kids-related sources of stress and fatigue!). I thought that the love I was looking forward to giving to my children, combined with my natural sense of organization, would enable me to smoothly transition into my new role as a mom... As any parent reading this can easily figure... I was not prepared for what was coming my way...
Welcoming my kids in this world, and helping them become their own little selves have brought me a unique level of joy and love, but it has also come with daily chaos, and unprecedented levels of anxiety...
Growing up with an autistic sister who suffered from epileptic seizure for several years, I have seen many doctors and hospitals in my childhood. Since then, any health matter triggers my inner alarm system, and awakens an outstanding capability to imagine the "worst case scenario" and make it current and real in my mind...
As a result, when I found out that Louis was anaphylactic to milk, eggs, hazelnut, and banana, and that even traces of these ingredients were life-threatening to him, I came back from the allergist office feeling like the sky was falling … and completely helpless. Nobody around me had ever been through what was ahead of me, and I had zero knowledge about food allergies. To make it worse, the only words of the allergist had been: “There is no treatment for food allergies… the only solution is avoidance”.
The irony is I had already heard these words four years before, because Manon had also been diagnosed with food allergies. But in her case, the food to avoid was shellfish... You do not find crab, shrimp, and lobster often in daycares and preschools, so it was pretty easy to manage. With Louis, these words sounded much more frightening: milk and eggs are everywhere; they are part of every single day of our lives, from the simplest meal or snack to the biggest celebration….
I had no idea how I was going to keep Louis safe in a world where a mere kiss from me, his dad, or his sister, could send him to the hospital... I had no idea how I was going to keep him socialized in a world where any group setting involving snacks or meals would be a threat to his life...
I needed solutions that would put me in control... I needed examples of kids suffering from a similar condition who had found their place in this world like any other child, who had friends, and were able to go to school, join birthday parties, and travel safely... I needed the world to become "Louis-Friendly".
Fast forward 3 years, I do not have all the answers, but I have learned A LOT, and I am now on a mission to share what I know, and what other experienced parents and caregivers have learned, with those who feel as lost and distressed as I was 3 years ago.
Whether you are just getting started on the journey, or you feel like you have been on the cruise by yourself for too long, and you need a supportive community to keep overcoming the obstacles in your way, you are in the right place.
I founded Louis-Friendly to equip you with the knowledge, best practices, and resources that will avoid many trials and errors. Because when it comes to life-threatening food allergies, we simply cannot afford the trials and errors.
I'm so glad you're here! Take some time to explore the blog, listen to our podcast, and join our community on Facebook and Instagram.
Also, feel free to reach out to us if you have suggestions for our content, or would like to collaborate on a project together.
With all my heart,
Anne
Your partner on the food-allergy cruise ;-)
