Hannah Glass, a 19-year-old college student with a severe peanut allergy attending Maranatha Baptist University, died last week from anaphylaxis. More than 1,000 people paid their respects at Calvary Baptist Church in Watertown on Wednesday.
“She had a heart to serve the Lord,” said her mother, Janean Glass.
A friend had brought Hannah a brownie from a campus women’s group meeting. The brownie contained peanut flour, which was substituted for wheat flour to make it gluten-free.
David Glass, Hannah’s father, said:
The second bite, she knew something was wrong. We believe because this product contained roasted peanut flour, separate from oily peanut butter, that masked this.
She was administered epinephrine by EMS.
Mr Glass explained what happened next:
She had thrown up, she had the hives, but some Benadryl had made things better. After a few seconds of laying down, things changed dramatically. In hindsight, it’s at that point the right lung collapsed.
While being rushed by ambulance to nearby Watertown Hospital, EMTs had trouble resuscitating her. Her heart had stopped for four minutes. She was subsequently transferred to Froedtert Hospital, where she died Sunday.
Mrs Glass warned food allergy sufferers, “Always be aware. Make sure your EpiPens are up to date.”
Hannah’s organs were donated and have so far saved the lives of four people.
Here is the WISN-TV news report regarding the tragedy:
We send our heartfelt condolences to the Glass family on the loss of their daughter. We hope the close community they live in brings them some measure of solace after this tragedy.
As we do when reporting such a loss, we look for strategies that others in the food allergy community may employ to avoid similar tragedies.
Those with food allergies should never eat unwrapped, unlabeled food — whether store-bought or homemade — unless they are absolutely sure of its ingredients and where/how it was made. In this case, the brownie contained peanut flour, but even if made with wheat flour, it may have contained traces of peanuts due to cross-contact from the kitchen.
We also urge you to always take two emergency epinephrine devices with you everywhere, every time, and to use one as soon as you suspect anaphylaxis. We don’t know how soon after exposure Hannah had administered her epinephrine, but the sooner it is administered, the better the outcome.
It’s also apparent that the first dose was insufficient to halt the progression of Hannah’s anaphylaxis and we’re not sure if she had a second dose on hand. You should always have two doses available in case the first dose doesn’t alleviate your symptoms.
Last but not least, some doctors are turning away from advocating the use of Benadryl during allergic reactions, fearing the drug may mask anaphylactic symptoms. Be sure to discuss whether the continued use of Benadryl is appropriate with your allergist.
