Oh Nuts: Manny Makes a Kid Feel Good
Our idea of hell is living with a dairy allergy. We can’t imagine a life lived without mozzarella sticks, ice cream, or ice-cold glasses of milk paired with warm cookies. We’d probably just pop some Lactaid and suffer through the ill effects.
As bad as cheese-free living may be, at least it’s not dangerous. People with severe nut allergies live in fear of being exposed to even trace amounts of nutty goodness. And Manny Ramirez feels for them.
The Herald reported that Red Sox star spent 20 minutes chatting with a young fan who can’t attend a game at Fenway Park due to his peanut allergies.
“My son said, ‘I can’t go to (Fenway) because people throw peanuts around,’ ” said [Heather] Flaherty, whose father is Boston Fire Chief George Bishop. “(Ramirez) was really respectful[.]”
There’s no indication if the boy’s proximity to the sometimes-nutty Sox slugger triggered an allergic reaction. But seriously folks, we love hearing heartwarming Manny stories.
June 24th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
I’d recommend a visit to informative websites like faan@foodallergy.org and click here to get educated on food allergies. Popping Lactaid is an unsafe way to deal with an allergy. And putting that in print is irresponsible as someone might take a suggestion that could cost them their life. Strict avoidance is the ONLY safe method to deal with a food allergy. Our son is allergic to dairy and a fraction of one string of a mozzarella stick could kill him. Living without him would be hell. There is much more to a great life than dairy!
June 25th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Thank you, Ann. I was preparing to say the same thing, as my son also has an anaphylactic allergy to milk and almost died when he was 2 from a single, toddler-sized gulp of milk. FAAN (foodallergy.org) helped us keep him safe and as well-adjusted as a milk-allergic child in a milk-filled world can be. To the piece’s author: While your lead is clever, it’s completely untrue and irresponsible. Perhaps you were actually referring to lactose intolerance - a very different condition? Please do your research first!
June 27th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
I second the sentiments of Ann and Rose Boccio above. I am also hoping that Fenway will soon join the growing number of baseball teams (albeit most of them are minor league teams at this time) who are making special arrangements for their peanut-allergic fans. There are more and more “peanut-free” games, “peanut-free” sections, and even special suites or skyboxes reserved for a game or two so peanut-allergic fans can visit the ballpark without sitting amongst peanut shells. Maybe Fenway will be next?
July 9th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
My son with a peanut allergy was able to attend a game at Fenway last night. If you contact the Red Sox and are put on a waiting list, you may be able to attend a game sometime. They sometimes put a section aside to be peanut-free, but they need more convincing that they should have more games available. It was really wonderful to finally take my son to Fenway to see the Red Sox! They even put a welcome up on the big screen for the peanut allergy families!
July 26th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Katherine, I hope you’ll see this comment so you can tell me more! I am so glad to hear they did have something and that you and your son had a great time.
We’ve been on the waiting list for months, but never heard anything. I understand, though, they must be overwhelmed by demand. It would have been nice to at least get a note saying that they were filled up for this year. Can you tell me how many people there were roughly? Were whole families allowed to accompany the peanut allergic person or just one companion? Where were you seated?