Teen Dies at California Camp

By Kelley Lindberg


Tragedy occurred this week at a family camp in Sacramento, and it’s especially sad because the family did everything right, and 13-year-old Natalie Giorgi still passed away from her reaction.

Her parents were extremely cautious, well-informed, and prepared. When she accidentally bit into a camp-provided Rice Krispy Treat and tasted peanut, she spit it out, and her parents administered Benadryl. She seemed fine for 20 minutes, then began to vomit. Her parents then administered an EpiPen, and when that didn’t seem to help, they gave her another, then another.

Three EpiPens and Benadryl, and she still died. It’s our worst nightmare.

Her devastated parents are reminding all of us to be vigilant and are hoping their story will help raise awareness of the seriousness of food allergies.

For more information about Natalie and this tragedy, see “Years of Caution about Peanut Allergy Fails to Save Teen Who Died at Camp Sacramento,” from the Sacramento Bee.

All of us in the food allergy community are heart-sick at this news, and we send our most tender condolences to the family who lost such a lovely daughter.

“Never Let Your Guard Down”

by Kelley Lindberg


If I could have one wish granted for this blog, it would be that I’d never have to write about another child dying because of a food allergy reaction.

But that wish hasn’t come true yet.

Last week, 11-year-old Tanner Henstra in St. George, Utah, died after accidentally popping a peanut-butter-filled pretzel into his mouth at a friend’s house. Although he immediately realized his mistake and spit it out, it was too late.

The family had been vigilant about his food allergy his whole life. The boy was educated about his allergy and ordinarily very careful. The mother is a nurse. The boy usually carried epinephrine, but for some reason didn’t have it that day.

It was just one of those momentary accidents that could happen to any of us. Within minutes, his throat and tongue had swelled, cutting off his airway, and by the time medical assistance arrived, it was too late.

The Salt Lake Tribune has an article with more information about the tragedy (“Utah Boy’s Death Highlights Food Allergy Vigilance,” Salt Lake Tribune, April 26, 2013). The article includes a quote from Michelle Fogg, president of the Utah Food Allergy Network (UFAN), who explains why teenagers make up the majority of all food-allergy fatalities: “Teenagers are bigger risk-takers and less vigilant. They get busy, it’s not cool to carry [epinephrine] around. They just get caught without it.”

A single moment of inattention, combined with a forgotten EpiPen, spelled disaster for this family. If you have a child who is getting to the age where he or she is becoming shy about carrying their epinephrine, or rebellious about avoiding the food their friends are eating, or just flat-out sick of being deprived of “normal” treats, you may want to have them read the article about Tanner Henstra, so they can see just how quickly a single accident can turn deadly. If you’re not sure whether you should talk to your younger child about this, Michelle Fogg suggests this helpful website for “Tips for Talking With and Helping Children and Youth Cope After a Disaster or Traumatic Event” on the government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website.

The boy’s heartbroken mother has one message for food allergic kids and their families: “Never let your guard down.”

A Tanner Henstra Memorial Fund has been set up to help the family with funeral and medical expenses, if you'd like to offer your support. UFAN has generously donated to the fund, so more thanks go to Michelle and all the folks at UFAN for being a strong supporter of our food allergy community. And we all send our heartfelt thoughts to the Henstra family.

Peanut-Allergic Teen Dies in Massachusetts

by Kelley Lindberg


A couple of times a year, I seem to find myself reporting on another teenager who died after eating a food they were allergic to. Unfortunately, it has happened again: “Allergic Teen Dies After Eating Cookie.”

Cameron Groezinger-Fitzpatrick was a 19-year-old college student, who had come home to Massachusetts for spring break. He’d only been home for 2 hours.

According to the news report, he and his friend went out driving and bought some cookies. The friend tried a cookie, said he didn’t taste any peanuts, and then young Cameron ate one, saying “Ah, the hell with it, I’m sure it’s fine,” according to the friend. He didn’t have his EpiPens with him.

There are the first 3 problems: 1) Cameron was out of the house without his EpiPens. 2) The cookie didn’t have a label, but Cameron risked it anyway. And 3) his friend tried to predict the ingredients by tasting the cookie. (You can’t always taste allergens in a food product. The taste test is NEVER a reliable test, and should never, ever be used to determine the safety of a food. If a food doesn’t have an ingredients label, avoid it. Period.)

Then even more problems occurred: 4) The friend apparently drove Cameron home, instead of to the ER. 5) Cameron hadn’t unpacked his suitcases yet, so his mother couldn’t find his EpiPen. 6) She had one in her cabinet, but it had expired 2 months earlier, so first responders told her not to use it. (Seriously?) A neighbor brought one over and used it, but by then it was too late.

The mother was later told by a doctor that she could have used the expired one, but no one knows if it would have made a difference at that point.

In any crisis, problems and mistakes can stack up in a heartbeat. In this case, all of those problems and mistakes created an unthinkable disaster for this family.

As my friend Suzanne said when she told me about this story, “I don't know what is scarier, the fact that the teen willingly ate something that he had no label for or the mom being quoted to say, ‘I didn't know you could die from nut allergies.’”

So if we can learn anything from this awful experience, it’s that we need to remind our kids (and ourselves) that food-allergic people simply cannot let our guards down, even for a minute. We must stay vigilant, keep our medications with us, read ingredients labels each and every time, and never rely on blind luck. It isn’t really all that difficult to do. But convincing teens to do it seems to be a challenge sometimes.

Once again, I feel compelled to remind us all that most food-allergy deaths occur to teen boys who don’t have their epinephrine auto-injectors with them. Now that my son is a teenager and running with a very social group of friends, I worry more about making sure he has his epinephrine with him. I also remind him about food every time he leaves the house. I know he’s probably tired of hearing me nag him, but I know he needs constant reminders even if they are annoying. Much as we love ‘em, teen boys just aren’t universally known for their common sense and perfect memories.

So I remind him, and make sure he has his meds, and show him articles like this one that really hit home. My heart goes out to Cameron’s family and friends. And I hope that his experience will help reinforce our own children’s commitment to staying safe.