Rob's Story

Rob's grandson, Charlie, has multiple food allergies. Rob cycled for Allergy UK in the Prudential Ride London and raised an incredible £750!

I chose to support Allergy UK as, whilst there are many other worthy charities offering Ride London places, I wanted to ride for a cause that is personal to my family and to raise awareness of the issues that living with allergies has both on the life on the person suffering with the allergy and the people around them. I have heard many people imply in their ignorance that this is a modern phenomenon that is some kind of psychosomatic ‘attention seeking’ condition which, of course, is absolutely not the case.

Who would’ve thought that a product like Play-Doh would contain wheat?!

Even at 3 years old Charlie is very aware of his allergies and the foods that he needs to avoid. It is a daily challenge to ensure that he is not exposed to food products that may cause anaphylactic shock even in seemingly innocent surroundings such as a child’s birthday party or even a walk in the park where he has been offered a biscuit by a well-meaning stranger having a picnic.

As I have mentioned in my Just Giving story, who would’ve thought that a product like Play-Doh would contain wheat?! We have all read the harrowing stories in the media where people have sadly died after eating from allergic reactions – this is constantly in the minds of everyone who is affected by allergies either directly or close family members.