The Sabrina Shannon Memorial Award is dedicated to the life of Sabrina Shannon, an inspiring teenager who suffered a fatal anaphylactic reaction in 2003. During her life, Sabrina worked to raise allergy awareness by creating the first-person radio documentary, “A Nutty Tale,” which aired on CBC radio in 2001. Since her passing, Sabrina’s parents and other members of the allergy community have kept her spirit alive by advocating for allergy-safe schools and communities. In 2005, Sabrina’s Law was passed in Ontario, providing landmark legislation that has influenced anaphylaxis policies in schools across Canada. Put simply I believe that Sabrina’s Law has saved lives.
The winners of the fifth annual Sabrina Shannon Memorial Award are Sydney Harris of Barrie, Ontario and Katherine Li of Calgary, Alberta. Sydney and Katherine were selected from a total of 88 applicants for their demonstrated commitment to raising awareness and educating others about severe allergies. Our congratulations to both Sydney and Katherine!
Sydney is 18 years old and will be entering her first year of a pre-health sciences program at Georgian College, Ontario. Since being diagnosed with food allergies at age 13, she has actively raised allergy awareness at her school through presentations for her classmates, and by providing anaphylaxis training to her high school teachers. She has also maintained a blog -“A Tale of Anaphylaxis”– where she provides tips and support for other teens with food allergies. Sydney has also been an active member of Anaphylaxis Canada’s Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) for which she has written educational articles, exhibited at health fairs, and developed and delivered various conference presentations. Sydney was also a mentor in the first Allergy Pals Online Mentorship Program in 2014.
Katherine is 19 years old and starting her second year of studies at McGill University, Quebec, where she is a part of the McGill Student Emergency Response Team (M-SERT). She has helped treat anaphylactic reactions on campus and educated fellow students on recognizing symptoms of anaphylaxis. Although she does not have food allergies herself, her interest in the condition led her to seek a two month summer internship at Dr. Wayne Shreffler’s lab at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases and Food Allergy Research Center. There she gained first-hand lab and clinical knowledge on oral immunotherapy treatment among other research.
Thank you to Anaphylaxis Canada for sharing the information on the 2014 winners of the Sabrina Shannon Memorial Award. I happen to know a certain young lady who might very well be a candidate for this incredible award in the next few years. Stay tuned…
That is sad to read about the genesis of the award but great that something positive has come out of it. Congratulations to all those named.
Thank you Tim..
I think I’ve heard of this documentary before .. its inspiring that all those young people find the time from their busy lives to raise awareness
Very true Rane, very true..
It is so sad to know that actually a number of young people suffer from life threatening allergies. I never even thought that an allergy reaction could take away a human’s life, as in the case of Sabrina Shannon 🙁 Thank you for focusing on people’s awareness about Anaphylaxis. We should talk about such health issues and try to help others with information and support.
Thank you for reading Vanessa,,
Food allergies are a serious health problem. I know a couple, both doctors, who lost their daughter to severe anaphylatic reactions secondary to peanut allergy. Terrible.
How horrible Fred, God be with them..
Allergies are such an important issue to raise. Having been a chef in a childcare centre I have seen the spike in allergies over the years and especially the importance of being a nut-free operations. Good luck Sydney and Katherine.
Thank you Anna..
This is heart warming to read and i feel so much better about the world knowing lots of young people do great things instead of just being crazy like what we read in the internet everyday. My son has allergies, non life threatening, he just got itchy bumps whenever something he eats doesn’t agree with him and i feel so bad because it must not be easy for a 7 year old to have to deal with that, especially when the attacks can last for days
Oh your poor son. I feel for him Mindy and for you. It is a difficult thing to deal with, no matter how severe the reactions are.
no i dont know someone who suffered to food allergies… what country is this, by the way?
It is in Canada..
Congratulations to the winners, they are youngsters with a big hearts. Fernando Lachica
Very true Fernando!
This is an amazing initiative. Congratulations to winners 🙂
Thank you!
I think it would be important to remember and be aware of her cause. She brought the awareness on anaphylactic reactions to a higher level.
They sound like amazing young women,Congratulations to both of the winners!
They certainly are 🙂
She is a real hero..
Anaphylaxis is a condition which can progress very rapidly however if caught early it can be treated effectively. So good to hear that an initiative is being taken to spread awareness about this condition 🙂
It is needed..
Thanks to SABRINA for making a move to help other patients who suffers from anaphylactic reactions.
She was an impressive young lady..
This is really a very meaningful award that can help people with anaphylactic reactions. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Thanks for reading..
Cheers to those people who are Continuing this advocacy on promoting awareness about anaphylactic reactions in schools and communities. to the winners, congrats and may life be an inspiration to other youth.
How sweet, thank you!
Congratulations to the winners! This is a critical issue and should be covered by all school districts and shared with parents. Blessings to Shannon’s family too.
Thank you Elizabeth,..
Hats off to these two lovely young ladies for already accomplishing so much to raise allergy awareness and at such a young age!
We have a nephew who always carry an epipen with him and have a handful of mom friends with kids with allergies. I often host play dates and make sure that I do not serve nuts/milk or if we do or somebody brings one, we always announce to the moms to avoid surprised and accidents.
Thank you for being aware Karen and supporting your friends. I know it means the world to them.
Congratulations to both of the winners! They sound like amazing young women, truly a real model to follow! I have some food allergies myself as do others in my family.
Thank you for reading Joanna, it is so important as you know first hand..
Great advocacy about severe allergies. Kudos to Sydney and Katherine for doing a great job in helping others be aware of severe allergies.
They are pretty amazing young ladies..
Congratulations to the winners. Well deserved win!
Agreed!
Congrats to both winners for promoting awareness of anaphylactic reactions. such an inspiration
Thanks for reading along..
An excellent post about a very important problem.
The daughter of a teacher I worked, with died of peanut allergy when she was on a camping trip with her class. she had 2 epi pens but they were not enough to get her to safety.
This really brought the whole issue into clarity for me.
That is just horrible! I feel for them, it is such a scary thing to deal with and hard to send your kids on trips like that. God be with them..
A memorial award is something that is won by a most worthy person. Bravo to the winners
Very true Darlene..
Congrats to the winners,amazing job
🙂