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On any given day, Chance Keating can struggle to eat or go for walk — activities that for many 7-year-olds are routine moments in life.
That’s because the Scranton boy suffers from a chronic immune disease that renders him allergic to a wide spectrum of foods and environmental agents.
Paws for Chance’s Cause 5K Race/Family Fun Day will take place from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 25 at Nay Aug Park in Scranton and will include children’s entertainment, live music, and craft and service vendors.
The event will benefit Chance’s need for an allergen detection service dog, which will help him avoid severe allergic reactions.
Chance’s mother, Jill Keating, 35, said he has been in and out of doctor’s offices since birth.
“He got diagnosed with acid reflux disease when he was a year and a half old, and he was put on acid reflux medicine,” Keating said.
The medication was successful for a while, but by the time chance was 3, symptoms returned and he was taken to a gastroenterologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“The doctor said, ‘Let’s put him down for an endoscopic scope, and we got the results that he had eosinophilic esophagitis,” Keating said.
Eosinophils are white blood cells that are not normally present in the esophagus but build up in Chance’s esophagus because of his allergies to a multitude of foods.
“In simple terms what that means is when Chance eats a particular food … his brain sends eosinophils … which come in when something’s attacking the body, but instead of attacking the food, they’re attacking the esophagus,” Keating said.
According to the Mayo Clinic website, the disease can lead to esophageal tissue damage, difficulty swallowing and food impaction — a medical emergency that occurs when food gets stuck in the esophagus.
Chance was put on a diet of baby formula to repair his esophagus.
“When he got diagnosed, they took away every single food Chance had ever eaten in his life,” Keating said.
After seeing an allergist, Chance was able to eat a basic diet of apples, oats, potatoes and fish, and with the consultation of Danville allergist Dr. Paneet Bajaj, the Keatings have added other food to the list.
But the journey back to solid food hasn’t been easy.
“There was a point where they were discussing putting a PEG tube in place,” Keating said describing a feeding tube that is installed in the stomach wall.
“I was thrilled about the decision (not to).”
But even careful attention to his ingestion doesn’t keep Chance completely safe from allergic reactions.
“We took Chance to the Bloomsburg Fair, and he was OK the whole time, but when we were coming home, he got violently sick,” Keating said. “Our doctor said it was probably from the combination of all the food smells.”
When chance goes outside, he wears a mask to combat pollen count and extreme temperature, and Keating has to be cognizant of bringing him to places where food aromas can be overwhelming.
The benefit will aim to raise $12,500 to purchase a service animal that will protect Chance from peanuts, tree nuts and eggs.
“It would open up so many doors for him,” Keating said. “Right now, he’s very sheltered and inside the house a lot.”
Teresa’s Angels, a non-profit organization headquartered in Covington Township, specializes in arranging benefits and collecting donations to help people in need and has partnered with the Keatings to organized Paws for Chance’s Cause.
“We are 40 volunteers strong, and one of our volunteers knows Jill and Chance and contacted us about helping them,” organizer Steve Hill said.
The 5K race/walk will take place 9 a.m., with registration beginning at 8 a.m., and give way to family fun day that includes pony rides, face painters, a petting zoo, a bounce house and more.
Cinemark is sponsoring an attraction by Main Deck Productions. The large wooden pirate ship is an interactive source of entertainment where children can receive pirate training, go on a scavenger hunt, take a pirate oath, and receive a certificate.
For adults, the music of Alicia Lynn and Jody Busch, Farmer’s Daughter, Giants of Science, Lily Mao and the M80 duo will be featured.
Donation buckets will be available throughout the park and patrons can donate through 50/50 drawings and basket raffles as well.
“I’m trying to get Chance an allergen dog, but I’m also trying to spread awareness to families of how severe this condition can be.”
