Today’s post in my Advocating for Epinephine in Nevada Web series is thrilling! Watching a bill is simply not for the faint of heart or those lacking patience! Fabulous news to share this morning: SB453 Epinephrine in Nevada Schools was passed in the Nevada Senate last night! Wahoo! Next up: the Nevada State Assembly! We have to thank Senator Debbie Smith for being our hero and leading this charge. The Nevada Senate Floor Session yesterday took place all day and night. The session began at 11:30am and SB453 passed close to 9pm. There were several recess periods and watching all day long was amazing, interesting and surprisingly not boring.
Senator Debbie Smith explaining SB453 Epinephrine in Schools bill to fellow Senators on the Senate Floor
I personally started off watching from my desk top at home. Then I took my iPad to Starbucks, (sorry Bibos, but you don’t offer wifi) when I met with a friend today to make sure I didn’t miss a thing! Even my kids kept checking in all afternoon and evening long! Last night we raised our glasses of soy milk to celebrate a big hurdle and we hope to raise our glasses again after SB453 goes to the Nevada State Assembly and becomes law! The process is long but necessary and it does give me comfort that for a concept to become law, a bill must pass through many, many hand, eyes and checkpoints.
Families were watching this session live from all ends of the states! Thank you to Homa at OhMahDeehness for sharing this picture of you watching the session today and tonight!
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our beloved lobbyist, Michael Hackett who has volunteered many hours of his time to us. Therefore, thank you Michael for getting us through the Nevada State Senate and gearing us up for the Assembly.
Art created by Tiffany of Food Allergy Fun just for our epinephrine journey in Nevada! She is genius I would like to add.
Thank you to Senator Ben Kieckhefer, Senator Justin Jones, , and Senator Pat Spearman for standing up to support and speak about the need for epinephrine in schools. Each Senator shared important information from personal experience and knowledge. Senators, you truly understand and we appreciate your support and dedication to keeping the children of Nevada safe at school. Next stop: The Nevada State Assembly!
Photo courtesy of Senator Debbie Smith
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
Thank you Caroline for being a great source of information and for showing us all that changes can be made starting with just one person. You are a positive force in the food allergy and anaphylaxis community.
This has truly been a community effort and I’ve been representing the voices of Nevada food allergy parents. Our food allergy community has received many kudos for doing what we say we will do! It’s inspiring. BTW, we received our Epi-Essential order incredibly fast! We haven’t opened up the box yet….waiting for my daughter’s birthday which is very close by! Thank you for the Support!
I congratulate you all and wish you many more successes on this journey!
Thanks Selena, we all appreciate the support we are receiving from across the nation. Truly, we are one giant and wonderful food allergy and asthma community!