OUR STORY
Behind the Scenes
Hi, we are Kamisha and Wesley York from Austin, TX and we thank you for taking time to learn about PASH, a non-profit that began as a New Year’s Resolution in 2019 and came to fruition 11 months later in November of 2019. We relied on the 3 F’s to help us, faith, family, and friends! We started PASH because of our youngest child, daughter, Peyton Elizabeth. Peyton is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, the yolk of eggs, and as a mild dairy allergy. She too has a drug allergy to penicillin.
In 2010, I took our older son for his well check, Peyton who was 3 at the time came with us to the visit. Once we arrived at the doctor’s office, I noticed Peyton had broken out in hives and her face was swelling, the PA realized Peyton was in anaphylactic shock. Peyton was given two rounds of Epinephrine (Epi-Pen), put on pure oxygen and was rushed by ambulance to Dell Children’s Hospital in Austin, TX. I soon realized that my 3-year-old baby girl almost died, all because she ate a quarter of a cashew.
I found myself lost, scared, and not knowing what to do? My husband and I would go into the grocery store and not know what to buy because our poor daughter was allergic to everything it seemed. We also have two older sons who needed to eat, and we would think, what do we do? I could not find a support group, or any parents’ that understood what we were going through. I just wanted someone to help guide me. I would take all my questions to the doctors hoping for answers, but they too were not always sure how to answer.
Navigating food allergies through elementary school had been relatively easy, we had a few bumps, but overall things went well. Peyton is now in middle school and we are dealing with a new school, and new administration, so in essence it is like starting all over again.
PASH is here if you or someone you know is affected by food allergies. You now have a resource available, and our hope is all the questions we had we will now be able to provide answers. If you are unable to find the answer on our website, then please feel free to email me or anyone that is a part of PASH and we will be more than happy to help you find answers.