An 11-year-old boy died after an allergic reaction to peanuts and his parents are hoping his death will spread awareness of the dangers of food allergies. Their story is heartbreaking and their message very urgent.
Oakley Debbs was A straight-A student, a star athlete, who loved tennis, football, and soccer. He was also a marathon runner.
He and his family were vacationing in Maine over Thanksgiving. Relatives had ordered a Thanksgiving gift basket with a ham. The basket also contained a pound cake for dessert.
After eating the cake and realizing it contained nuts, Oakley told his mother, Merrill Debbs. She gave her son Benadryl, which she explains had always worked in the past when Oakley accidentally consumed nuts. She says he felt “great” and returned to playing with his cousins and twin sister. Later that night, however, he fell ill and began to vomit. Within minutes, he couldn’t breathe.
It started with a blister on his lip. Within hours, Oakley Debbs was nauseous, had a stomach ache, and was vomiting. On the eve of Thanksgiving in the U.S., the 11-year-old died in his father’s arms.
Now, they’re wishing they’d known how severe their son’s allergy was so they could’ve taken swifter action. The parents explain that his asthma was always the bigger concern. Oakley’s father Robert says, “There was always an asthma plan. We didn’t really have a defined nut plan which we’re finding out needs to be really defined.”
Dr. Ruchi Gupta, an associate professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and director of the Food Allergies Outcomes Program at Northwestern spoke to TODAY.
“We do not know enough about delayed reactions like these that seem to get better but then progress rapidly to death,” Gupta said. “That is why it is so critical to know how to identify a reaction and when and how to use epinephrine.”
In the midst of their tragedy, the Debbs family started an organization called Red Sneakers for Oakley to raise awareness about the potentially life-threatening symptoms tied to food allergies that people of all ages deal with. They chose red sneakers because they were Oakley’s favorite shoes.
“This is relevant to everyone because there are millions of people living with food allergies, including children and young adults,” Oakley’s mother, Merrill Debbs said.
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Sources: OpposingViews, Today