[Trigger Warning]
Correction: Ms Maxine North reached out to us on Instagram to correct the account we quoted from The Argus. Jess was carrying two adult dose epinephrine auto-injectors, which were within the expiration time, contrary to the information below. Our apologies.
Jess North, a 20-year-old with a peanut allergy from Aldingbourne, England, died after consuming food that contained peanuts, leading to a fatal anaphylactic reaction.
Maxine North, Jess’s mother, spoke for the first time since the incident, describing that fateful evening to The Argus:
Our world fell apart on Sunday, 9th May 2021.
I was 20 minutes from dishing up the Sunday roast when Jess decided that she didn’t want the meat that was on the menu.
The kitchen was a hive of activity, so I asked her to look in the freezer to see if there was something that she could have in its place.
She pulled out a pre-made shop bought sweet potato dish saying that she had it before.
Although Jess was allergic to peanuts, she believed the dish was safe because she had eaten it before.
Maxine continued:
Once seated for dinner, Jess took a couple of mouthfuls of the sweet potato and said she didn’t like it, pushed it to one side, and ate the vegetables.
She ate quickly as she was going out to meet a friend for the evening, which she was looking forward to.
She went upstairs, gathered her things, kissed me and her father goodbye, and drove off.
Within 10 minutes I received a phone call from Jess saying that she was having difficulty breathing.
The fear in her voice triggered something inside me and I knew that she was having an allergic reaction.
She was near Arundel on the A27, so I told her to pull over and administer her EpiPen, something she had never done before, but she knew how to use it.
Once administered I told her to dial 999, as they would be able to locate her exact position through her phone.
It takes about 8 minutes to get to Arundel from our home. I have no recollection of how my husband and I got there. It’s a complete blur. En route, we also dialled the emergency services but had no idea where her location was.
They told us that an ambulance had been dispatched to an emergency in Arundel, but they couldn’t say what or who it was for.
In the meantime, Jess managed to pull into a side road where somebody saw her from their window struggling and went out to help.
The person thought she was having an asthma attack and rushed to get their inhaler. Once the person returned, Jess motioned towards her EpiPens.
She was disoriented, so the person took charge of the EpiPen and administered it into Jess’ arm when in fact it should have gone into her thigh.
When we arrived on the scene, the paramedics were there. A scene I will never forget.
Jess was taken to St Richard’s in Chichester.
We had to wait for what seemed like an eternity while they stabilized Jess. She had stopped breathing twice on-route.
For the first 3 days, she was on life support.
On the third day, they performed an MRI scan to determine what was going on.
That evening we were told that she was fine, but they couldn’t reassure us what damage had been done until she woke up.
The next day they slowly began to withdraw the medication for Jess to wake up, but they soon became concerned as she wasn’t showing any signs of doing so.
Another MRI scan was performed at the bedside, and we were told later that day that in fact there was no brain activity.
I can’t remember much from that point, all I knew was my beautiful baby had gone and our life had changed forever.
The doctors told Jess’ parents that nothing more could be done.
Since then, Maxine has become a passionate advocate for food allergy awareness, raising funds and engaging with her community. After realizing that many patients with allergies had limited access to epinephrine, she collaborated with her GP to develop strategies to prevent such tragedies in the future.
She said:
My GP has now started sending alerts to patients with severe allergies.
Jess had a junior EpiPen instead of an adult EpiPen.
They now contact people each year to make sure their EpiPens are up to date, sending them an alert.
Maxine is dedicated to raising funds for charities that advocate for food allergies, chief among them The Natasha Allergy Foundation (NARF). This July, she will rappel down Peacehaven Cliffs to raise money for the organization and support the installation of Kitt Medical installations containing life-saving epinephrine in schools and public places.
A link to Maxine’s fundraiser can be found here: www.gofundme.com/f/jesss-smile
We send our sincere condolences to Ms North and her family for the tragic loss of their daughter. We thank her for her advocacy and hope that it brings her some measure of comfort knowing that her efforts will save the lives of others.
As we always do when reporting such tragedies, we seek strategies that others in the community can adopt to prevent similar circumstances.
First and foremost, understand that epinephrine is the only drug that can halt and reverse the progression of anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction. Regardless of how the doses are administered, the prescriptions must be kept up to date to ensure the epinephrine remains potent for use in an emergency.
In this case, Jess was still carrying a junior dose of epinephrine — not sufficient for a full-grown adult — and it was likely significantly outdated.
Be sure to always take two doses of epinephrine along everywhere, every time, and be sure to administer the first when you first suspect anaphylaxis.
Additionally, be cautious of store-made foods, particularly from places where your allergens of concern are present in the kitchen. Even with staff assurances, there is no way to know if an allergen has been unintentionally introduced via cross-contact.
It is critical you remain vigilant. Unless you are absolutely sure how a food was prepared, store-bought or otherwise, avoid it.
