https://owens-law.co.uk/team daily 0.75 2021-05-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1619630922863-BGBLNCLJEKN2YY51Q0V3/IMG_3307.jpeg Our Team - Emma Kocher I was 16 when my little brother Owen was born, so we didn’t have a standard sibling relationship. I remember holding him for the first time and being really taken aback by how much I loved him. It may sound silly, but I didn’t realise how much love one could have for someone, and have only felt that way about my own children since. Unconditional and total devotion to protecting them. I watched our mum work tirelessly to keep Owen safe from his multiple allergies; preparing special meals for him, taking him to hospital appointments, caring for him when he was unwell with his asthma, or in pain in his gut, or itching angry hives, reminding him to take his medicines, etc. I learnt how to be a good mum through this experience and when my three babies were born, the love and care Owen had received from his older family was passed onto them. Owen was only 9 when my son was born, but was instantly the most devoted and soppy uncle you’ve ever seen. The bond he had with each of them was so special - a mentor, a gaming rival, a wrestling target, a tickle monster, a prankster and a warm cuddle in front of a film. One tiny error, a simple lack of communication, cost Owen his life and robbed my children of this magical relationship. Having worked for some time in the catering industry, it is clear to me what a lack of understanding there is surrounding the seriousness of food allergies, how easy it is for corners to be cut and therefore the huge risk allergy sufferers are placed under, just by eating out - something the rest of us take for granted as being easy and safe. For me, a change in the law would not only prevent future deaths, but also highlight the seriousness of allergies and anaphylaxis to those in the catering industry and the wider population, and mean the dining experience for allergy sufferers would be far less stressful for them and their families. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1619630885649-DRDFMCS5OPS0ERCUV8HE/IMG_7546.jpeg Our Team - Paul Carey Tobias Keene, D.D.S. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Tobias Keene brings a bit of unabashed Southern hospitality to all his patients. He moved to Washington, D.C. over thirty years ago as a freshman at Ivy College. Right after graduation, he attended World University’s School of Dentistry. Before opening Keene Dental in 1994, he worked for free clinics and some of the finest practices in the District. He is part of the 123 Dental Association and stays up-to-date on the latest dental discoveries. When not striving to keep his patients happy and healthy, he’s enjoys hiking with his family in Rock Creek Park. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1619630999217-5IEKCPBMKY03RXT7355L/IMG_1653.jpeg Our Team - Daniel Carey https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1619861147665-CLUACX0YF5Y46G5BTIH9/DSCF9686.jpg Our Team - Moira Carey https://owens-law.co.uk/campaign daily 0.75 2024-02-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1619983596971-O0FLE3JXA6P47SM37ZKD/DSCF0050.jpeg Our Campaign We, Owen’s family, want to see a change in the law that compels restaurants to state the 14 major allergens prescribed by EU law in their dishes in writing at the point of ordering and without the customer having to ask. This simple change would eliminate the risk that exists at the point of order when a waiter does not fully understand, or is not trained enough to process, or simply ignores the customer’s concerns about allergens in each dish. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1620233597839-1QDWNSMK45KL0K6KX0YZ/1BC53D16-44FC-4F9D-B9B1-BD19EC848C34_1_105_c.jpeg Our Campaign Now supported by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), it is hoped that the Government can be persuaded to change the law. To do this Owen’s family want to build on Natasha’s Law, which dealt with the ingredients and allergy listings on pre-packaged takeaway food. Natasha’s Law showed that the UK’s allergen laws were flawed and outdated, and needed reform, but it left an uneven situation where people taking away pe-packaged food have more protection than those eating in restaurants. The FSA are in agreement that to make such changes are of little cost, but immeasurable benefit to those whose lives are blighted by allergies and anaphylaxis. They have updated their guidance on the area and have written to Mark Spencer, Minister of State for Food, Farming & Fisheries at DEFRA advising them to cement these changes in legislation. https://owens-law.co.uk/home daily 1.0 2024-10-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1618648560009-EXI4V3XLBNPFBUYJEHG1/256B8F9E-571D-452A-8188-39F60AFFBF78_1_105_c.jpeg Home - Owen’s Allergies Owen had suffered multiple allergies to food, pollen, cleaning products, animal hair, and more, all his life. Some of these were relatively minor, only causing mild stomach upset, or sneezing and itching, some more significant, and some ultimately life threatening. Through the various medical tests and the fastidious care of his mother and wider family, Owen never came into contact with his main food allergens, and therefore had never suffered an anaphylactic reaction before the day he died. He lived his life in constant discomfort with stomach upsets, hives, rhinitis, eczema and chronic asthma affecting him on a daily basis. Despite his life-limiting condition, he was a ray of sunshine and a true example to us all. We miss him terribly https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1619971100312-WPR2F7YV3WS5BGDVJV8L/IMG_7956.jpeg Home - Our Team Meet our family. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1619963652165-KQ3AAEMGVUDOWNIN9EHW/18484474-7464483-image-a-24_1568494640851.jpeg Home https://owens-law.co.uk/allergies daily 0.75 2021-04-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1619816881595-Q7TM6KB0CZE434T0UMAO/IMG_8066.jpeg Owen's Allergies - Food Allergies Owen’s food allergies began to become apparent once he was being weaned onto solid food at around 6 months old. He became covered in hives from tasting bread and vomited after trying some milk and blackcurrant juice. Later, when it also became clear that he was having stomach pain from food, Owen underwent detailed testing to discover which foods might be causing the issue. The results were quite shocking as they showed that he was allergic to a wide variety of foods. These included: cow’s milk and cheese; goat’s milk and cheese; wheat; rye; rapeseed oil; sunflower oil; yeast; sesame; soya; all nuts; egg; salmon; cod; pork; avocado; kiwi; ginger; blackcurrant; tomato; onion; garlic; chocolate; cocoa; tapioca; monosodium glutamate; artificial sweetener; tea. Thankfully, once his diet was altered to exclude any of the above, Owen’s stomach pain disappeared and his health improved. His diet was assessed to ensure it remained healthy as a result of all the exclusions and he had to take calcium and iodine supplements. Over time as he was growing up, Owen did develop a tolerance for some foods and was able to introduce pork, fish, eggs, tomato, onion, garlic, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil into his diet. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1619817288087-8XNABCF0GVO1AYP7I43O/IMG_7928.jpeg Owen's Allergies - Environmental Allergies Owen was asthmatic and could react to airborne particles of the foods to which he was allergic. He discovered that he could not stay long in a coffee shop without becoming very wheezy. This was due to milk particles in the air from the frothed milk. He was also similarly affected from wheat particles in the air in a pizza restaurant where the chefs were making the dough on site. If there were volatile chemicals in the air from paint, aerosols, cleaning sprays, bonfire smoke or exhaust from cars, Owen would suddenly have difficulty breathing and need to use his inhaler. From when he was around ten years old, Owen began to have problems with his eyes. They would become itchy and felt as if there was a foreign body in them and it led to him having blurry vision and being very sensitive to bright light. An eye specialist diagnosed him has having Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis and Keratitis which is caused by an allergic reaction of the eye to pollens in the air. This reaction would begin in the spring, become worse in the summer and then lessen in the autumn months each year. One summer, Owen developed an ulcer in his left eye as a result of this. It was extremely painful and he was left with a scar on his cornea but thankfully it did not affect his eyesight. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1619817567089-YOSKXH9YVP725IQMDHCO/IMG_4321.jpeg Owen's Allergies - Living With Multiple Allergies Despite his many allergies, Owen was not held back from participating in normal activities at school, at home or on holiday. He took part in a various sports including swimming, hockey, cricket and gymnastics. His elder brother taught him to ski and Owen went on skiing holidays both with him and with the school. Owen completed both his Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards and was in the middle of training to do a parachute jump for charity before he died. Owen loved music and learned to play the violin and trumpet to Grade 5 before teaching himself to play the guitar (electric and acoustic). He had a great time jamming with his friends in the year leading up to his death. Owen adored computer games and was regularly heard laughing and joking with his friends when they played together online. Holidays were mainly self-catering so that Owen’s allergy-free diet could be catered for. If that was impossible, then a discussion took place with the caterer where a list of allergens were provided and suggestions of the meals which Owen liked were given. This was translated into a foreign language where necessary to ensure Owen’s safety. Whilst growing up, Owen always carried a rucksack with his medicines, inhalers, epipens and specially prepared food with him wherever he went. https://owens-law.co.uk/media daily 0.75 2024-01-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/84092fb2-ee60-475d-a8b3-ef4614d7eb91/IMG_3219.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/b5945ee7-4e0d-4978-b91c-66dcdd4b872f/IMG_2209.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/20e1f96a-1fe8-49d3-b123-8acaf59d26fc/Screenshot+2024-01-19+at+21.25.12.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/5cd089f6-7f15-48db-b37e-95097443bc47/image0.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1626182132784-9SPS5P5J1486MGSGB9R5/IMG_7546.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1621201095495-N1OLHP5TQ6BZLIXS5U8H/NINTCHDBPICT000652684756.jpg Media & Projects THE SUN 16th MAY 2021 BIRTHDAY MEAL TRAGEDY. My son, 18, died an agonising death after Byron Burgers meal triggered allergy – the law must change to save lives. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1621200895132-XUV0BD8KSUG25AZAYJUC/_118378468_owencarey.jpg Media & Projects BBC, 6th MAY 2021 Byron burger death: No damages payout for Owen Carey's family https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1621199947772-1EFIWHF288HS575DA3UB/-methode-times-prod-web-bin-35d4bba4-3eca-11ea-9bc3-b4804128329e.jpg Media & Projects THE TIMES, 24th JANUARY 2020 One in five food samples contains a hidden allergen https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/1621200378174-C8U9DD12XEJ9NZ173VXV/_108763320_hi056448886.jpg Media & Projects BBC, 11th NOVEMBER 2019 Owen Carey: Allergy deaths register 'could save lives' https://owens-law.co.uk/news daily 0.75 2024-10-09 https://owens-law.co.uk/research daily 0.75 2024-09-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/93880fe4-d905-459a-9f10-98cf9ef0ab8c/2cc1cb95-0f3d-41e7-864c-88cb9f922ead.jpg https://owens-law.co.uk/support daily 0.75 2024-09-19 https://owens-law.co.uk/new-page daily 0.75 2024-09-16 https://owens-law.co.uk/resources daily 0.75 2024-11-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6047816cfa15ed1f20ecd4a5/2cc4935a-95ec-40d3-9ea5-9b04d09db2ed/IMG_1181.jpg