EpiPens and compassion for all

Those of us in allergic families know that being directly affected by allergies isn’t a requirement for compassion; the world, thank goodness, is populated by many sympathetic individuals. Still, it’s not hard to find people who are hostile and disbelieving toward allergies. I suspect that the most vociferous antagonists of the allergic community won’t understand just what it’s like to live with allergies unless they themselves or someone close to them develops them, but I hope, for their sakes, that these people are blessed with the luxury of maintaining their skepticism. If they’re not, I also hope that safeguards such as the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act are firmly in place to protect them and the people they love.

Curtis Sittenfeld is the author, most recently, of the novel “Sisterland.”

Thanks Curtis Sittenfield for your great article in the NY times about Epi-pens and allergies, compassion and antagonists. Your words express what we feel since we had to live with a deadly allergic daughter. It is as you say not a reason for compassion, or an excuse or a cry....it is though a fact of life and comprehension from any environment is dear and helpful. PM

A version of this op-ed appears in print on September 8, 2013, on page SR9 of the New York edition with the headline: EpiPens for All.