A mother today revealed her “horror” as she told how her teenage daughter died after enjoying just one sip of Costa hot chocolate.
Hannah Jacobs, 13, had a severe dairy allergy, so her mother ordered the drink with soy milk.
But she suffered an “immediate reaction” after taking a drink and tragically died within hours, East London Crown Court was told.
Her mother, Abimbola Duyile, today told the inquest how her daughter’s condition rapidly worsened after she bought the drinks before going to the dentist.
She said she was “picky” in telling staff her daughter had an allergy, adding: “I told them Hannah was severely allergic to cow’s milk and said they should clean the jug – which they agreed to.
The mother said her daughter took a sip of the drink before “abruptly standing up” and shouting “that wasn’t soy milk.”
Abimbola then rushed Hannah to a nearby pharmacy after she began complaining of chest pains and her mouth and lips were swollen.
She said: “My initial response was anger towards the Costa Coffee team – it gave way to terror.”
Hannah then collapsed in the pharmacy and was given an EpiPen injection while paramedics were called.
The student was taken to hospital, but unfortunately died shortly afterwards.
Abimbola told the court she had been careful with staff when explaining the severity of her daughter’s allergy.
What to do in an anaphylaxis emergency
According to the Anaphylaxis Campaign, it is absolutely vital that anyone who is having a reaction receives the injection.
They should do this as soon as a reaction is suspected and an ambulance should be called as soon as possible.
Give the injection first and call 999 immediately afterwards.
What to do:
- Try to ensure that a person experiencing an allergic reaction remains as still as possible
- Ideally, they should be lying down and if they feel weak, dizzy or appear pale and sweaty, their legs should be raised.
- When dialing 999, say the person is suffering from anaphylaxis (anna-fill-axis)
- Provide clear and accurate instructions to the emergency operator, including the zip code for your location
- If adrenaline was administered, note the time it was administered. A second dose may be given after five minutes if there is no improvement.
- If the person’s condition worsens after making the initial call to 999, a second call to emergency services should be made to ensure an ambulance has been sent.
- Send someone outside to direct the ambulance crew when they arrive
- Try to determine what food or substance may have caused the reaction and make sure the ambulance crew knows this
She said that at this point Hannah was “busy scolding me for being so demanding.”
The mother also stated that she felt like the employee couldn’t understand what she was saying, so she leaned forward.
She explained that there was a “complete avoidance” policy when it came to her daughter’s allergies, which also included fish and eggs.
As a result, Hannah was “diligent” about what she ate and always checked her orders with the store staff.
The investigation continues.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
