‘THIS ADVENTURE CHANGED MY LIFE’
LENA Barden, from Histon in Cambridgeshire, had her first severe allergic reaction when she was two years old after eating a chocolate biscuit.
Reliving the frightening experience, her mother Diana recalled: ‘She began to have breathing problems slowly over the next couple of hours.
‘Then her face swelled up, her eyes were almost shut and her feet were swelling.
‘She became floppy in my arms and hospital staff took her off me and poured Piriton, an antihistamine, down her throat.’
She added: ‘It’s the only time she got that far with anaphylaxis and it was very frightening. Skin patch tests showed she was not only allergic to peanuts but every other type of nut.’
Lena started the trial in June 2011 and Miss Barden, 52, says it has been a relief to see her daughter able to go out and meet friends without having to worry about eating peanuts. She said: ‘Lena’s still on five peanuts a day but I expect it will get less over the next year of the trial.
‘It’s still a worry because of her other allergies to nuts but peanuts are the most widely used – so it’s one less thing we have to worry about.’
And Lena, who is now 11, said being admitted to the trial felt like she had ‘won a prize’, adding: ‘A year later I could eat five whole peanuts with no reaction at all.
‘The trial has been an experience and an adventure that has changed my life. I’ve had so much fun. But I still hate peanuts!’
Thomas Baragwanath, 16, from Holbeach, Lincolnshire, also had his first allergic reaction to peanuts when he was two.
He started the trial three years ago and is now able to eat five peanuts a day.
‘It has helped me so much,’ he said. ‘I don’t have to worry about what I’m eating and where it comes from.’ He added: ‘It has been a massive problem for me and I’m so thankful I’m getting rid of it.’