ELK GROVE—
Crystelle Berginc’s sons Cayden and Conner are both allergic to peanuts. But, while Conner’s reactions result from simply swallowing, Cayden’s allergies are more severe.
“Cayden has an airborne reaction so he does not even need to ingest it. It just needs to be near him for him to have an anaphylactic reaction,” said Berginc
Now Berginc is asking the Elk Grove Unified School District, where her children are enrolled, to expand their peanut policy.
“We did take a step this summer to take peanut products off our lunch menu,” said Elizabeth Graswich with the EGUSD.
That change was prompted by the death of Natalie Giorgi, 13, who was exposed to peanuts at Camp Sacramento.
Berginc wants the district to take the next step and ban children from bringing peanuts anywhere on campus.
“Just because a child has a hives kind of reaction, one episode can involve anaphylaxis the next. You just don’t know,” said Berginc
EGUSD has trained school staff to use EpiPens to reduce reactions, but like in the case of Giorgi, they are not always effective.
“The allergies are increasing in number for children and you don’t know which one. Why not take the harmful substance out of the school and protect our children as a whole,” said Berginc.