A college student with a severe peanut allergy died days after unknowingly eating a brownie that contained peanuts.
Hannah Glass, 19, broke out in hives and became extremely ill on November 4 after eating the snack, which contained roasted peanut flour. The ingredient was used as a substitute for wheat flour, according to her family.
“The second bite, she knew something was wrong,” her dad, David Glass, told Wisconsin news provider WISN12.
“We believe because this product contained roasted peanut flour, separate from oily peanut butter, that masked this.”
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Glass contacted her parents after the brownie triggered vomiting and hives. She took Benadryl and laid down on her stomach, but this lead to her experience shortness of breath, discomfort and a collapsed lung. Glass eventually lost consciousness.
The Maranatha Baptist University freshman had used her EpiPen. Her parents rushed to her campus in Watertown, Wisconsin to help. They called 911 and carried her outside the dorm where emergency workers began trying to save her life.
“She was completely unresponsive and I was incredibly helpless,” her family said. Glass had seizures and her heart stopped for several minutes in the ambulance.
The teen was put on a ventilator and tests revealed she had severe brain swelling that shut down her body.
“When Hannah rolled on her side, the Anaphylaxis reaction that we had not seen before hit her incredibly hard,” her family posted on Facebook.
“This caused her to gasp for breath, leading to the collapsing of a lung, further exacerbating the situation and making the ability of us, the EMTs, and the doctor at Watertown hospital impossible to fix.
“The majority of her brain was unmistakably, seriously, critically, and without the life-sustaining measures in place, terminally damaged. There were no conversations about quality of life or anything like that. This was only life and death!”
Glass’ parents made the decision to take their daughter off life support on November 10. They decided to have her organs donated and the teen was given a tribute by family, friends and medical staff who organised an Honor Walk in Glass’ memory.
The brownie had been purchased by Glass’ friend from a women’s group on her campus.
Her primary organs have since been used to save four lives, CBS 58 reports.
Glass’ parents are now sharing an important message to others about allergies.
“Always be aware. Make sure your EpiPens are up to date,” Glass’ father said.
You can donate here.
Gregory Robinson