A PLAY exploring how young people cope living with severe allergies will raise money in memory of an Oswaldtwistle teenager who died earlier this year.

A Day in the Life Of, which will be shown at the Civic Arts Centre, follows the real life story of 17-year-old Chloe Fitzpatrick who lives with a severe airborne allergy to strawberries.

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The play was produced two years ago by the Fitzpatrick family, but is being performed for the first time in March.

All proceeds will go towards the Anaphylaxis Campaign in memory of 15-year-old Megan Lee who died on New Year’s Day from a severe allergic reaction after eating a takeaway meal.

Chloe, a Burnley College student who was diagnosed with the allergy when she was two years old, will appear as herself in the production which also stars her sister Lucy, 21, and friend Sophie Guest, 16.

Chloe’s sister Sophie Fitzpatrick, a creative project manager at the Civic Arts Centre, said Chloe has been close to death on a few occasions and suffers one or two serious anaphylactic reactions a year which can leave her hospitalised.

The 25-year-old said: “Her allergy is airborne so she does not have to touch a strawberry to have a reaction.

“It is so severe that if I bump into a stranger who has just had a strawberry drink and I see Chloe five or six hours later that is enough for her to have a reaction.

“She is amazing in the way she deals with it. You would not even know she had the allergy.

“We were thinking about how many more people have to live with a severe allergy - whether they are embarrassed by it or worried about kicking up a fuss.

“There are more and more young people getting reactions but also a lot of people who know nothing about anaphylaxis.

“We wanted to create this play that will give you an insight into someone’s life. It is from Chloe’s perspective.”

“For the first time you get to see someone telling you exactly how it feels to have a reaction and how it is managed.”

“You see what her worries are, what she has to think about and what to do if someone is having a reaction.

“It is thought-provoking, but also warm and funny. Chloe looks at life with humour.

“As a family we are incredibly proud of how she deals with it and how courageous she has been in wanting to give young people a voice.”

Sophie said they spoke to Megan Lee’s parents about dedicating the play to the teenager who was a regular at the arts centre.

She said: “We thought it would be a fitting tribute and would really raise awareness.

“It was an awful tragic thing and we do not want it to happen to again.”

“We thought it would be nice to raise some money in her memory.”

Xavier Bowers, headteacher at Chloe’s former school Mount Carmel RC High School, said: “I think it will be a fitting tribute. Megan was clearly a popular and well-liked young person.”

A Day in the Life Of will be shown on Thursday, March 2 from 7pm at the theatre in Union Road. For tickets visit www.ticketsource.co.uk.