Casey Cares talks to Laura, mother of Casey Cares child Simon, about the importance of getting peanut-free seating and more. 

Thanks to Casey Cares and the Baltimore Orioles, Simon and his family enjoyed an evening Orioles game from peanut-free seating since Simon and Laura both have severe peanut allergies. While Laura’s allergies can be managed, allergy medicine for Simon would cause him to have seizures. "Simon is also unable to really understand or communicate about his food allergies, which increases his level of risk and our level of caution...It's truly refreshing to have food allergies become so accepted and normalized, and to find people and places - like Camden Yards - make accommodations available," she says.

Laura continues, “one of the things that made our visit to Camden Yards extra nice was the bright spot it provided during an otherwise difficult week for Simon, including a long day of testing and an overnight hospital stay for seizure monitoring.” Simon is diagnosed with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and hydrocephalus which is an abnormal buildup of fluid in the brain.

“I'm so grateful to Camden Yards for making some peanut-free seating available and to Casey Cares for looking into the option for us, and for generously providing us with our first opportunity to safely attend an Orioles' game,” Laura states, “We were able to have a relaxed summer evening, enjoying our beautiful city's amazing ballpark with all the other fans. Being able to attend a game as a family…was just really lovely.” 

Simon is a “a life-long Orioles fan” as is “Simon's dad, Brian, [who] really loves baseball. Simon's even participated in an adaptive baseball league. Simon loved chatting with everyone, getting a new Orioles bear for his collection - he's a bear collector - and taking photos of people and players.” 

Laura remarks, “For me, the best part was seeing Brian have a chance to share his love for the game - and for the O's! - with Simon.” 

Initially, Laura found that it was difficult receiving help after Simon’s diagnosis and the family was having a tough time managing his health. However, at field hockey practices for her daughter, she was encouraged to apply by former Casey Cares Communication Coordinator, Amy Rosewater Halushka, who “would share wonderful things about the program and work she was doing.” 

Simon has been with Casey Cares for over five years and loves cooking, music, painting, drawing, and photography. “One of Simon's favorite things is to visit restaurants with open kitchen areas - like Bertucci's - where he can watch the action while getting to try different kinds of food. One of the silver linings of the pandemic was Simon discovering his love of photography. We got Simon his own camera…but I think he likes to photograph his favorite people, places, and things more,” Laura says. 

Laura ends, “Over the years, Casey Cares has really contributed to improving Simon's overall quality of life - something that really matters for a child, now a teen, coping with permanent, life-threatening, medical conditions. It matters for his family, too. We get to balance some of the stress and trauma that comes with our experience with a greater measure of joy. Joy is really important, Casey Cares reminded me of that.”