Imagine having a severe asthma attack brought on just by the cooking of pasta, or never being able to leave your home because you just might have an allergic reaction to just about anything outside of your home environment. That's how life is for 6-year-old Deidra Fao and her brother, 2-year-old Dominic Fao, children of Karen and Tony Fao of Dawson. Both were born with severe allergies, which have affected their brain function and their motor skills. Dominic was also born blind. Because of these hardships the children have to deal with and overcome each day, the Bullskin Township Lioness Club chose to present them with a Spinoza bear. The bear has a built-in tape player that allows it to talk and sing. It comes with 10 tapes, such as "Dream on the Water" and "Everybody Needs a Little Tenderness." Its purpose is to comfort the children. According to Carol Bialek, Bullskin Township Lioness Club president, members try to give one or two Spinoza bears away every year. This year they chose to give the bear to the siblings after Bialek came in contact with their mother, Karen Fao, at the Scottdale Gazebo one Sunday evening last year. "I just walked up to her and asked for her phone number, and we finally had enough funds in our budget to purchase the bear," said Bialek. "I hope the children enjoy him." "It's real exciting that the Lionesses thought to give my children the Spinoza bear," said Karen Fao. "We're very appreciative." She added that Deidra was born in 1996 with very severe food and environmental allergies, which caused her to have many seizures. She was eventually diagnosed as being an epileptic. "As these last few years have gone by, however, we have found that she only has seizures when she comes into contact with a severe allergen that her body cannot tolerate," continued Karen Fao, who added that a few examples of this would be most foods, pollens, and various colognes and perfumes. In fact, both Deidra and Dominic are allergic to most foods, including all dairy and egg products, and all grains, except for rice. Their diet currently consists of brown rice, lamb and green beans. "Everything they eat is grown in their grandmother's garden and it's all organic and home canned," said Karen Fao. "The lamb is from local farmers and must not be inoculated, and we let Uncle Ben take care of the brown rice." "Everything's home cooked," she added. "There's no shortcuts and no McDonalds." Because Deidra's diet is so very limited and has been since birth, her brain never received the amount of fat it needed for proper development. Therefore, she experiences numerous developmental delays. She walks with the use of a walker and braces on her feet. According to Karen Fao, Deidra understands what is put to her, but can't always communicate her thoughts back to you. "Deidra wears thick glasses to help her see due to her severe nearsightedness and macular scarring, otherwise, she is a beautiful, happy little girl who loves bluegrass music," said her mother. Dominic was born in the fall of 2000 and also has the very severe allergies. He is also very delayed in all areas of development and has undergone four operations on his eyes. "Dominic's blindness is status quo right now," said Karen Fao. "His doctors said that in about four years they will be ready to use the microchip in children that will bypass the retina, which is his problem. If we can just keep the eyes healthy until then, he may be able to see one day." Doctors are not sure why the two children were born with these allergies, and there is no cure for their condition. "I just hope that someday they will outgrow it," said Karen Fao. "These are children that are homebound. We have our own environment here, and if we do invite someone into our environment, they have to be briefed. We very rarely take them out of this environment." Jean Echard, vice president of the Bullskin Lioness Club, hopes the Spinoza bear will be a bright spot in the children's lives. "We take from the community so that we can give back to the community, and this is one of the many ways we do that," she said. The Faoes also have another child, April, who just graduated from Frazier High School. She does not have the severe allergies.

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