If you were one of the passengers aboard the Allegiant Airlines Flight 171 from Bellingham, Wash., to Phoenix that was delayed because of an allergic child, there’s something you should know. The information will be especially useful to the subset of passengers who cheered when the 7-year-old was finally kicked off the plane.
In the video by NBC affiliate KING below, Christina Fabian, 7-year-old Giovanni’s mom, recounts the experience that led up to their being forced to deplane:
[Giovanni] began to get very itchy and he was scratching all over. He started to get hives, so we informed the flight attendant who informed us that there’s dogs on every flight and just smirked, which minimized his experience for me.
We understood. They helped us off the plane, but as we gathered our stuff the people toward the back of the plane clapped.
Giovanni’s feelings were hurt by the rude reception, but more importantly by the monkey wrench his allergic reaction threw into the trip.
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“People who don’t have sadness, they don’t understand,” he said, explaining:
My dad is sick with stage four throat cancer. The purpose of the journey home to visit family [was] to make memories. And I am sad that this has to be a memory with my dad.
George Alvarado’s cancer is terminal, and his remaining time on earth is short. The trip was supposed to be a special one. “You don’t know how much time people have or why they are hurting,” Alvarado said. “Just be nice. Be kind.”
That’s advice most of us could stand to follow.
