I'm Maya and I am 12 years old, I was born with food allergies to dairy, eggs and nuts, I don't know what it's like to be able to eat something without worrying. My allergies make it difficult to eat out in restaurants because not everybody understands how dangerous anaphylactic shock is. Anaphylactic shock is where somebody has a severe allergic reaction to something whether it's food, an animal, a bug sting or something else. 

When I was a baby I went into anaphylactic shock after I had eaten a dairy-free ice-cream with cashews in it. I was kept in the hospital for 2 days just because I had eaten ice-cream. It's hard to eat while I'm on holiday, especially when the waiters don't know my language. Of course it's not anyone's fault, but it can get frustrating not being able to eat like everyone else. Sometimes people assume that a certain food doesn't have any allergens in it, which is really annoying because they need to check, they don't really understand how bad it can be. 

I'd like to support the anaphylaxis campaign because I believe it's important for everyone to know about the dangers of allergic reactions. The anaphylaxis campaign raises awareness and has support groups for people with serious allergies like me, they're quite a small group and I would like to support them and help more people try to understand.