When 7-year-old Giovanni Alvarado and his parents took a trip to Bellingham, Washington to visit family, they went to make life-long memories. What happened on their attempted flight back home is not one of the memories they thought they would make.
On Monday, February 22, Giovanni’s mom, Christina Alvarado, wrote the following post on her Facebook page:
“This evening, I witnessed disgusting behavior from the passengers of Allegiant flight 171 Bellingham to Phoenix/Mesa. My 7 yr old son had an allergic reaction to the dogs on the flight. We are not sure why he had this type of reaction but we assume that it has something to do with the immense amount of stress he has been under lately.”
In response to his allergic reaction, take off was delayed. The flight attendant snickered at Alvarado that dogs are on all flights, while the passengers became obviously upset. Alvarado explained in her post that the passengers began making “insulting, ignorant, insinuating comments that minimized [her] son’s experience.” She shamed the passengers for being so cruel, not only for their comments, but for the applause. Alvarado stated:
“What crushed us was that our 7 yr old boy looked at us with tear filled eyes and said, ‘I’m sorry that I put you through this. This is my fault’ then he proceeded to say, ‘I can’t believe that people clapped. They shouldn’t do that because they never know who already has sadness in their hearts.'”
The sadness that young Giovanni was referring to, and the stress he has been experiencing that may have contributed to his allergic reaction, is his father’s current health condition. Giovanni’s father, George Alvarado, is suffering from stage IX lung cancer. Their trip to Washington was on George’s bucket list.
Giovanni was saddened that these passengers made the end of their trip into a heartbreaking, life-long memory of the last moments with his father.
Passengers Respond to the News Coverage
The news coverage on Giovanni’s experience has been limited to only the family’s point of view. Few passengers have come forward.
A couple of passengers, Carole Burton and Janet VanderYacht, came forward alleging that they were appalled by the headlines. They claim that the family’s story is an overreaction to the events that took place.
Burton stated that the clapping was only by a few individuals. She herself was not apart of the applause, but that she assumed it was more like a crowd clapping when an injured player is helped off the field. She also suggested that the applause could have been because those passengers were happy that now that the medical emergency was over, they could finally take off.
Yet, other passengers, in response to the outrage on social media, have posted on Facebook that they witnessed the events and were disgusted with their fellow passengers’ response. One of the passengers, Chrystin Gabryshak wrote:
“Worst display of human compassion I have ever seen. I do have to applaud the one lone passenger who stood up and addressed those cheering with a ‘that’s not right.'”
Who Is to Blame?
In trying to be objective about this story, I tried to consider what prompted these passengers to do such a horrible thing. Why would anyone clap to a little boy being escorted off of a plane?
In an attempt to look at it from the passengers’ perspective, I pondered that maybe it was just the passengers love for dogs.
According to Chris Janelli, an Executive Director at the Center for Canine Behavior Studies in Connecticut,
“[T]he incident might be indicative of the relationship people have with their pet companions. ‘Perhaps the stewardess and the passengers were saying, dogs have as much a right to fly as somebody who is allergic to them.'”
I love dogs just as much as the next person, but this is a ridiculous reason to clap at a boy suffering from an allergic reaction because you care more for dogs than for a human being. Hopefully, this was not the reason for the applause.
I also considered that maybe the applause was a reaction to something one or both parents were doing or saying. Maybe the parents were being rude and the passengers were responding in kind. On the other hand, even if the parents were being disrespectful, there was a child present–one who was likely already frightened because of his allergic reaction.
It also must have been scary for him, knowing that he had to get off the flight because of something that is completely out of his or his parents’ control. And then, to hear the applause from the other passengers must have been heartbreaking for a child who is already dealing with the biggest heartache any child has to face–a dying father.
As a parent of a child with a life-threatening peanut/tree nut allergy, I also question why the parents were not more proactive in ensuring the safety of their child. Why didn’t they call the airline ahead of time to ensure they were on a dog-free flight or why didn’t they have Benadrayl or an Epi-Pen with them to combat this reaction?
I pause in questioning their inaction because I cannot imagine what it is like to deal with terminal cancer. Their thoughts must have been about whether George could even get on the flight given his advanced lung cancer. Their thoughts must have only been about what medications or any medical devices they needed to bring along with them. Their thoughts must have only been about making good and happy memories in George’s final days, for everyone involved.
Now this poor child will have a lifetime memory of these cruel passengers.
Watch Washington Local News Coverage Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVLWefVgZH4
Featured image is a screenshot from Youtube.
