Our 9 year old daughter died as a result of anophylaxis owing to an allergic reaction to blackberries. On Monday, 22nd May 2017 she was declared brain dead but since her heart was still beating, she was kept on ventilator for a few days. On Thursday, 25th May 2017 we finally had to set her free and take her off the ventilators.

We knew she was allergic to dairy and she had Asthma so we looked after that for the last 9 years. We had only one major incident in these 9 years with a few minor incidents intermittently. She had never eaten blackberries before and somehow on Saturday. 20th May 2017 morning she wanted to eat blackberries and asked Dad to put them in pancakes. Both were busy making dairy free pancakes not knowing what lay ahead. Having taken one bite of the pancake, she immediately reacted and within minutes despite immediate medical attention at home - Epipen and also the paramedics having arrived within 5-7 minutes of the incident, she passed out turning completely blue. She lost her pulse, breathing and had a cardiac arrest.

A nightmare we will live and relive every single moment of our lives remaining, we are saddened to note that one in 3 children are allergic in the UK. Every single one of them is susceptible to severe allergic reaction to something else and potential death. Both Vinod (Nainika's Dad) and I (Nainika's Mum) are very shaken by this horrible incident and would like to make our little contribution to support research and work done on allergy care in the UK. So much remains to be desired in this space and there are many lacuna, a small donation will be greatly appreciated from your end but more importantly, your support in helping build awareness about allergies in children will be able to save a life! Thank you