Meet the Team

Chairperson – Katie Aspinall

I am mother to three gorgeous and wonderful children, Teddy, Brodie and Aurora and am married to my husband, Laurence. We love nothing more than spending time together, going on bike rides, swimming and visiting our special place, Angelsey.

As well as being chairperson at Allergy and Asthma Parents, I am also a part-time primary school teacher, a job that I love, as well as being CEO of Allerpacks, I business that I set up with my business partner, paediactric allergy consultant, Dr Jose Costa. Allerpack provides insulated bags for the safe keeping of allergy medication such as adrenaline and other medication.

I am thrilled to be a member of this team and community. For me, this group really came together as a project of passion.

All three of my children have multiple food allergies, asthma and eczema. My journey into motherhood has been a rollercoaster ride, with the highest of highs with my children as well as going through some very low times as a consequence of managing these conditions.

As a family, we have managed anaphylaxis, life threatening asthma attacks, the day to day management of eczema and allergic rhinitis. We have experience of administering eye drops, nasal sprays, AAI’s, daily antihistamine, eczema treatments multiple times every day and are currently embarking on a new journey of immunotherapy for DMA and biological treatments for asthma.

I am honoured to be a part of this group and enjoying getting to know all the members and wonderful professionals that we get to work with.

Stephanie Cox – Secretary

I’m Steph, wife to Dan and mum to 5 year old Henry and 2 year old George. Henry is my allergy baby with non-igE allergies to dairy and soya. We have put George through his paces the last couple of years and as yet, we cant see there are any allergies there which is great news!

Getting a diagnosis for Henry was very hard. From birth Henry would just scream in pain, be constantly sick, have mucousy and bloody poos and would never sleep. This was all put down to ‘normal baby behaviour’ until one day someone took me seriously and we got on our pathway to a diagnosis.

After multiple attempts at the soya ladder, finally a couple of years ago we got to the top and Henry is enjoying soya in his diet daily now which has made a significant difference. However there have been signs that his milk allergy is a little more severe than initially thought and we are currently in the process of looking into having him tested to see whether we are actually looking at an igE reaction instead.

I am so happy to be a part of this group, providing local support to fellow allergy parents – we will get through it if we all stick together!

Leanne Millar – Treasurer

I’m Leanne, mummy to Isabelle, Isla and Indie. All 3 of my girls have experienced food allergies, Isabelle successfully passed the egg and milk ladder before her 3rd birthday.

Isla has a mixture of ige and non-ige allergies to milk, egg, soya and kiwi. We are awaiting skin prick tests to check mustard and celery. Getting tested for Isla has been difficult due to covid but we are now on the right track and getting the support we need from the hospital.
We did attempt the milk ladder with Isla but she reacted and we are due to start the gradual ladder this week 😬😬

Indie is 4 months old and exclusively breastfed. From very early she showed signs of a milk allergy, green mucous nappies and other signs. I eliminated milk from my diet when she was 4 weeks old. We have a dietitian and consultant appointment for Indie, the initial dietitian focussed on my diet. I now take calcium supplements to ensure I have the right intake due to my diet. I breastfed Isla through her allergies so I feel I have a bit more understanding this time round and know which yummy treats are free from 🧁🍰🍪😋

I am so excited to be a part of this group, it really does take a village! Looking forward to seeing you at the park meet ups and for a glass of wine at our mums nights! 🍷xx