LAND O' LAKES, Fla. — When Remington Walls as just four, he got medical news that would cost him birthday cakes, pizzas, and all the other tasty treats kids love.
“It’s called Eosinophilic Esophagitis,” said the now-19-year-old. “It’s basically a disease that attacks the esophagus.”
The medical hurdle has been a 15-year battle for the entire Walls family. Remington survives on nutrition shakes. He drinks one every 40 minutes or so. Some days he’ll consume two dozen shakes.
Eating food will cause him to violently cough.
“It has been a struggle,” said his mother, Stephanie Walls. “We don’t want any other families to go through what we’ve gone through.”
The one constant distraction in this normalized life for Remington was baseball. His dad introduced him to the sport around the same time he received his Eosinophilic Esophagitis diagnosis.
It was love at first swing.
“I love the competition,” said Remington Monday morning as he dodged puddles on his old high school field. A few of his former Land O’Lakes Gators teammates and friends gathered to play catch in the rain and hit off a tee.
Stephanie watched from outside the batting cage, reminiscing about the difficulties of raising a child who couldn’t eat like his friends.
She recalled the first birthday party at school after Remington’s diagnosis. She led him away from the festivities and read him a book as the rest of the students dined on sugary treats.
“It’s hard for him. I can’t even imagine,” said his friend, Matt Geiger.
Now 15 years removed from the sudden shock of switching to an all-liquid diet, which required (and still does require) trips to esophagus specialists, Remington has his health under control.
He and his mother decided to share their story in a book.
“I’m proud of what we’ve done,” said Remington. “We’ve been given a platform to make an impact on people’s lives, and that’s a blessing in itself.”
The book is called Home Plate and documents the journey for the Walls family. It’s a story about resiliency and perseverance.
It’s one the family hopes inspires others.
“Our biggest point was if we can help encourage one person to make it through any struggle they are going through, that was our purpose,” said Stephanie.
Remington credits his faith for getting him through tough times in life. He is a rising-sophomore at Valdosta State and plans to play baseball this fall. It will be his first collegiate season.
Home Plate is available through Now SC Press.
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