Nonprofit Helps Military Family Fight for Sons' 'Food Freedom'
Virginia family shares story during Food Allergy Awareness Week (May 9-15)
LAS VEGAS, May 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Army reserve soldier Alexandra Jaffett grew up an "allergy kid" and knows firsthand the isolation that comes with sitting alone at the lunch table and missing out on Halloween candy. Now that her three young sons have also been diagnosed with severe food allergies, she wants them to have a better quality of life.
Together with her husband, Carlos – an Active Guard Reserve soldier at Fort Belvoir in Virginia – Alexandra is on a mission to give 4-year-old Gabriel and 2-year-old twins Christian and Joshua the "food freedom" she's never had.
Through an online food allergy family group, the Jaffetts heard about the Tolerance Induction Program at the Southern California Food Allergy Institute, which offers a treatment that can send their sons' food allergies into complete remission. The only problem? The expense of five round-trip, cross-country plane tickets for the family to reach the medical facility every nine weeks.
Fortunately, the same online food allergy group offered a solution: Miracle Flights. The national nonprofit provides free commercial flights to families who need help reaching medical treatment not available in their local communities. Plane tickets are provided at no cost to both children and up to two parents or caregivers, as many times as necessary.
"When I first heard about the Miracle Flights program, I thought, there's no way they're going to fly my entire family to and from appointments each time! The service they provide is mind-blowing," says Alexandra. "To be able to freely fly out there and have Miracle Flights take care of the flights is a huge weight off our shoulders."
The Jaffetts recently returned from their second visit to Southern California and anticipate another flight in the coming weeks, as the boys continue their journey to "food freedom."
Nearly 6 million children in the U.S. suffer from food allergies like the Jaffett brothers, according to the CDC. That's approximately 1 in 13 children, or two per classroom. Each year, the second week of May is recognized as Food Allergy Awareness Week to call attention to the challenges food allergy families face and highlight resources available to them, such as Miracle Flights.
For more information about how Miracle Flights can help your family – or to help a family like the Jaffetts continue reaching the medical care they need – visit miracleflights.org.
About Miracle Flights
Miracle Flights is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free air transportation to children and adults who need help reaching specialty medical care only available far from home. The organization, founded in 1985, has provided 136,704 flights and typically books more than 600 flights per month on commercial airlines across the United States. To request a flight, learn more or donate, call 800-359-1711 or visit miracleflights.org. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram.
Press Contact: Erika Koff: (702) 261-0494 or [email protected]
SOURCE Miracle Flights
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