A mum has spoken out about the harrowing moment she got a text from her son saying he was eating a snack, which he then discovered he was allergic to.
Back in September, George Cadman-Ithell texted his mum Louise Cadman a picture of a bag of 'saucissons secs' salami he was snacking on, telling her 'these are nice'.
Just a few minutes later though, the 25-year-old texted his mum again, saying 'f**k, they contain walnuts', having not spotted the words 'aux noix' on the packaging - which is French for 'with nuts'.
His mum told him to call an ambulance and then made several attempts to get her son to tell her he was alright, in which she received no response.
Advert
Louise told the Sunday Times that George had been diagnosed with an allergy to tree nuts - which includes walnuts - when he was five, and is still in a rehabilitative unit in hospital.
A GoFundMe set up to raise money for George's recovery, which you can donate to here, said that the 25-year-old went through anaphylaxis and went into cardiac arrest, with his husband performing CPR on him until paramedics arrived.
He was rushed to hospital and his family said he was in an 'unconscious but stable state' at the time they set up the GoFundMe.
His mum said he'd had allergic reactions to nuts about 15 times in the past, mostly caused by eating unfamiliar food on holiday, but not needed to use his EpiPen before as he was able to treat the reactions with antihistamine tablets.
Now she's hoping that others won't have to go through the same experience, saying: "It’s just destroyed us, I can’t bear the thought of this happening to another family.
"He did his best to avoid nuts and if he was out in restaurants, he would always declare it.
"But, equally, I think he thought, ‘Oh well if they give me something by mistake I’m just gonna be a bit sick’, and it was never more than that."
Louise told the Sunday Times that George can open his eyes and breathe independently, but said doctors told her he is unlikely to recover, with them telling her 'his maximum life expectancy is three years if he remains in a vegetative state'.
She said she believed that in the time she was trying to get her son to confirm he was alright, he was running home to get his EpiPen. When she drove round to his home the mum arrived to see her son receiving treatment from paramedics.
Spending a lot of time by her son's bedside, Louise said her son 'can definitely hear'.
"If he’s asleep, for example, and Joe comes in and says hello, George immediately opens his eyes," she explained.
The family are now raising money that would help pay for adjustments to life, as they said in the GoFundMe they have 'every hope George will one day leave hospital'.
Topics: Health, UK News, Food And Drink, GoFundMe
Joe Harker