A woman is fighting to raise awareness about 'dangerous' high caffeine energy drinks, following the tragic death of her husband.
Cassondra Reynolds lost her husband John in February 2011 after he consumed an energy drink, which doctors said resulted in him having a cardiac arrest.
John would often grab an energy drink on his way to work as a mechanic, which involved working night shifts.
But one morning Cassondra woke up to hear 41-year-old John gasping for breath, and had to perform CPR as emergency services raced to their home.
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Cassondra, from California, has now released a heartbreaking photograph of the last time her children - who were five, six and eight at the time of John's death - saw their father, as he lay in a medically-induced coma. She hopes to draw attention to the risks involved with energy drinks.
It was 14 days after his cardiac arrest that Cassondra made the impossible decision to turn his life support off. Now, nine years on, she is fighting to impose laws restricting the consumption of energy drinks.
Cassondra, 49, said: "John was healthy, he worked out every day, he had had a full physical examination the month prior and all his results came back fine.
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"When he went to the hospital, the doctor told me that his sugar levels were sky high and were asking me all sorts of questions about his lifestyle, whether he took drugs and if he had any health issues.
"Eventually, the doctor asked me if he drank energy drinks, which I replied 'Yes, but only once a day'.
"He immediately explained that it only takes one energy drink to throw off the rhythm of your heart causing a heart arrhythmia.
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"When he was pronounced brain dead, I let my children come and visit him to say their goodbyes. I asked the nurse to remove as many wires as possible so that they wouldn't be scared."
Cassondra said John was 'the best husband' and a 'really good dad', and that watching him take his last breath was the 'most painful thing' she has ever experienced.
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She continued: "I want people to know how dangerous these drinks are and I need people to speak out about losing their loves ones because it happens all the time, you just don't hear about it.
"The doctor told me that drinking energy drinks is like playing Russian roulette with your life and that really stuck with me."
Now, nine years after John's death, Cassondra has launched the Awareness Project, which aims to raise awareness about the dangers of energy drinks and pre-workout supplements.
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A group that Cassondra started called 'Energy Drink and Pre-Workout Awareness' also currently has 11,000 members on Facebook.
She urged: "If you suspect that your loved one has had an adverse reaction to these drinks, report it to your governing food agency.
"These drinks are not tested enough and there is no age limit in the US for who can buy these drinks.
"I have heard so many horror stories from parents whose children have died as a result of these drinks, yet less than 1 percent of energy drink related adverse effect and deaths are reported.
"I don't want anyone to go through what me and my children have had to go through these past nine years, it doesn't get any easier you just learnt how to cope with it."
Featured Image Credit: Caters