Inside Line Promotions – ARLINGTON, Wash. (Feb. 13, 2014) – Natalie Connaughton isn’t allowed to be the typical 11-year-old child.
The sixth-grader from Edmonds, Wash., fights a daily battle against deadly food allergies, which threaten her health and dramatically impact her lifestyle.
“She should be in a bubble, but she’s not,” her mother, Sabrina, said. “She’s off-the-charts allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish, and is allergic to corn, wheat, dairy, latex, bananas; she’s got this huge list of things.”
Those are a few of the products that can quickly send her into a spiral, which is answered by a stab of an EpiPen to counter the anaphylactic shock and often leads to a lengthy hospital visit.
“She’s had an anaphylactic episode after going down a slide,” Sabrina said. “It was horrible. I think she spent a week in the hospital. Cross-contamination is a huge issue.”
Natalie has been hospitalized an estimated 40 times, Sabrina said, and has been extremely limited in the activities which she can partake.
“She can’t go to a lot of birthday parties,” Sabrina said. “Kids bring cupcakes to school and she can’t have one. She just really wants to fit in, but she can’t because she’s got limitations. She’s never had anything centered around her. It’s always what she can’t do rather than what she can do.”
Enter Al Tschider, who founded Big Al Kids & Motorsports Foundation to provide motor sports trips and racing opportunities for children battling life-threatening conditions and illnesses.
Tschider has added Natalie to his foundation and he is excited to announce that her foundation trip will send her as well as her mother and sister to the 21st annual Trophy Cup at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., Oct. 16-18.
“We’ll do stuff with her all summer,” Tschider said. “She’ll go to Cottage Grove Speedway for the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour races with the rest of the foundation kids and get to do all of the Northwest stuff. Her main foundation trip will be to the Trophy Cup.”
Natalie, who will learn of her dream trip when she reads this article, will road trip with her family to the marquee event this fall.
“She is going to flip,” Sabrina said. “She will have a chance to actually be a kid; to be able to do something that’s about her and to not be left out.”
If you want to get involved in Natalie’s trip or with the Big Al Kids & Motorsports Foundation, e-mail budwell74@msn.com or call Al at 425-761-3498.
BIG AL KIDS & MOTORSPORTS FOUNDATION –
Big Al Kids & Motorsports Foundation was created to provide motor sports trips and racing opportunities for children battling life-threatening conditions and illnesses. For more information, visit http://www.BigAlKidsandMotorsportsFoundation.org.
“I really believe in motor sports and it gives these kids something to look forward to," Founder Al Tschider said. “They spend a lot of time at the hospitals or just doing stuff that the normal kid doesn’t have to do.”
Big Al Kids & Motorsports Foundation would like to thank Steve Forler Trucking, Village Green Resort, FX Signs, Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series, Brenton’s Outdoor Adventures, MyTrafficMan.com, Joe Jones Entertainment, Satellite Solutions, Liquid Lime, Northwest Powder Coating & Sandblasting, Ridge Runner Wings, Randy Price, Steve Beitler, JSR Motorsports, Pro Mod Engines, RS Products, Triple X Race Co., OPC, JOES Racing Products, Design 500 Racewear, SpeedMart, Vic’s Old Gas Pumps, Moka Joe’s Coffee and all of people who have donated time and money for their continued support.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.BigAlKidsandMotorsportsFoundation.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BigALkidsMSF
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Al-Kids-Motorsports-Foundation/331823116849496?ref=ts&fref=ts
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program and to join Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or InsideLinePromotions@gmail.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Feb 13, 2014
- Article Date: 2/13/2014 by Inside Line Promotions