On the 6th March 2018, in the middle of our cabin on holiday at Center Parcs, my 6 year old daughter ate a peanut for the first time.

Within seconds she went into anaphylactic shock, “Mummy I can’t breath” - her lips, throat, tongue all started to swell and tighten and her breathing started to get faster as she tried to breath. All I had in the cabin was some Claritin hay fever medicine which I gave Sorcha immediately, and I kept her upright and fanned her down to cool her and kept saying “don’t panic, it’s okay, try to slow your breathing”.

We were lucky, an ambulance through some miracle got to us in our cabin within 5 minutes. They administered a shot of Adrenaline. This did not work, and a second had to be administered.

We then got into the ambulance and the blue lights flashed. Sorcha passed out in the ambulance, and we had to stop the ambulance twice on the way to stabilise her breathing which was deteriorating.The ambulance ride will live with me for the rest of my life. It was horrific.

On arrival to A&E, the doctors who intercepted her ran tests and said “her body has taken one hell of a hit of anaphylaxis” and started her on fluids and steroids immediately.

Sorcha survived due to the paramedics arriving so quickly and their heroic efforts, followed by the doctors and nurses at the hospital. They saved her life. But we nearly lost her. The photo on this page is of Sorcha in hospital the next day - as you can see, even the next day she is puffy and her eyes sunken.

I am running the Glow in the Park in London on the 31st August to raise funds for the Anaphylaxis Campaign, a charity that provides support and guidance for those with life threatening allergies. I want to help them, I want to help others, and I want to run for my baby Sorcha. 

Thanks for reading this.

Kate xxx 

The Anaphylaxis Campaign is the only UK wide charity solely focused on supporting people at risk of severe allergic reactions.Anaphylaxis (pronounced ana-fill-ax-is) is a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction that can be fatal. Severe symptoms such as a swollen tongue, difficulty breathing or becoming unconscious usually develop suddenly, often within minutes after being exposed to an allergy trigger such as a particular food, latex, insect stings or certain drugs.