ALL Angus Marney wants to do is "go to work with dad".
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The two-year-old pulls on his boots, opens the door of his family's Yarpturk home and tells his mother Emily: "I'm going to work.”
Sadly, she has to stop him from doing what he would dearly love - helping his dad Jack in the farm's dairy.
Angus has a severe dairy allergy and has had reactions just from giving his dad a hug after he has been in contact with cows. He is also allergic to peanuts and some treenuts.
Mrs Marney hopes her son will one day outgrow his allergies, but doctors don't know if he will.
"You just want your child to live the best life possible,” she said. "We would love for him to be able to go and feed the cows or milk the cows."
Mrs Marney and her husband first noticed a change in Angus when she stopped breast feeding him about six weeks after he was born.
"He was on formula for about two weeks and he started getting really bad eczema.
Mrs Marney was advised to switch her son to a soy-based formula.
This made a difference, but Angus still suffered from terrible eczema and had to wear full body scratch sleeves 24/7 for about 12 months. Angus has had a number of severe reactions to allergens and was rushed to hospital after eating rice and chicken satay.
He has also had a number of stays in hospital and has regular appointments with an allergist in Geelong.
Mrs Marney she wanted to raise awareness about food allergies, which occurs in about one in 20 children.
"As common as allergies are they are so misunderstood and complex,” she said.
"No child is the same.”
Mrs Marney said she hoped her son outgrew his allergies by the time he is ready for school. "It would be a huge relief if that happened – we want him to be able to do things like go on school camps and not have to worry,” she said.
Angus’ sister Eden, 5, was allergic to cow's milk protein as an infant but she grew out of it and his younger brother Fred, 14 weeks, has been put on a rice-based formula due to allergies.