Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: Health, UK News, Food And Drink
Britt Jones
The heartbreaking final words of a teenager who died after eating a Pret A Manger baguette have been revealed by her family.
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse was just 15 years old when she collapsed and died from anaphylaxis in 2016.
She had been suffering with a food allergy all of her life and was rigorous about keeping safe, as were her family.
Natasha couldn’t eat the birthday cake at parties, and had to bring her own food instead, and always had to carry around EpiPens.
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Her younger brother, who was 13 when she died and is now age 21, shared how he used to wash his hands after eating and made his school friends was their hands if they were visiting his home, to ensure her safety.
Alex Ednan-Laperouse told The Times: “She did struggle with it but it was her life that was at risk so she was still very safe.”
Natasha had not had an anaphylactic reaction in the nine years leading up to her death.
However, on 17 July 2016, the teen tucked into a Pret A Manger artichoke, olive and tapenade sandwich she bought at Heathrow Airport not knowing it contained sesame.
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Shortly after boarding, she went into anaphylaxis after collapsing on a flight to Nice, France.
That’s when Alex received a phone call from his father, who was accompanying Natasha.
He was told how she was about to die in a hospital in France as being on the flight delayed her access to urgent medical care.
It was hours of waiting for news of whether she would be okay when Alex was finally told that she would die within seconds, and he had to say goodbye.
“It was so unexpected, because I was so adamant that she would survive and would be OK,” he said.
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“I remember having very little time, saying, ‘I love you, Tash. You’ve been an amazing sister to me. Thank you so much for everything.’
“And the phone call ended and I ran upstairs into a room by myself, and I just cried. I cried for hours.”
Natasha went on to utter her final words to her father.
Nadim told The Sun: “It’s very hard to ever come to terms with but I’ve had to find a way through.
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"It happened on my watch. We would die a thousand deaths to have Natasha back."
According to the grieving father, Natasha's last words were ‘I can’t breathe, I’m suffocating, help me Daddy,’ before she suffered a heart attack which killed her.
Nadim has been active in sharing more information about deadly allergens.
The family, who were always careful about Natasha’s allergies, were perplexed about the sandwich which caused her deadly reaction.
However, it was because legislation at the time did not require food made on the premises to display allergen advice on labels.
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To change that, her parents campaigned to introduce Natasha’s Law in 2021 to ensure that all allergens would be displayed.
They won their battle and now it is law.
The family runs The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, which fights for clinical research, campaigning and education.
Yesterday (16 December) would have been Natasha’s 24th birthday, and Alex still feels strange about being older than his older sister.
But the family continue to celebrate her life instead of focusing on her death.
Alex said: “We like to remember the funny things, the silly things, just any good moment we had with her.
“I know Tash would be proud of my parents for the work that is being done.”