TV news this evening told of the death of a PA teenage boy on a school excursion in the Riverina district of Australia. Apparently he ate a teaspoon of peanut butter possibly as the result of a dare. No other details were given. My heart goes out to his family and his school mates and I feel very angry at the waste of a young life.
At the same time when I hear news like this it brings all my concerns for my PA ds to the surface. Things are worrying enough now when I have so much control over his situation. To let him go out in a world where someone might dare him to eat peanuts is scaring me badly tonight. It just doesn't seem fair that he should have to live with this time bomb inside him, he is such a gorgeous, happy, social human being. Most of the time I can rationalise my concerns and deal with them but tonight I feel overwhelmed by it all.
Stay safe.
Teenagers death from PA
Posted on: Wed, 03/20/2002 - 9:06pm
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I found a newspaper article at this site:
[url="http://www.smh.com.au/index.html"]http://www.smh.com.au/index.html[/url]
The original article disappeared from this morning, but there is a new one. I copied it out before it disappeared also.
Nut allergy linked to boy's death
March 22 2002
A post mortem will take place today on a 13-year-old Sydney boy who died after apparently suffering an allergic reaction to peanut butter.
Hamidur Rahman became ill during a school excursion to Yanco, southern NSW, with Hurlstone Agricultural High.
Ambulance officers said the teenager, from Hinchinbrook, in Sydney's south-west, went into cardiac arrest about 9.30pm on Wednesday.
The boy ate a spoonful of peanut butter and suffered a severe reaction a short time later, a police spokesman said.
Hurlstone Agricultural High school would not comment last night, but a NSW Education Department spokesman said police were investigating the matter.
Robert Loblay, head of the allergy unit at Royal Prince Alfred hospital, said Sydney hospitals had been lobbying the Health Department to establish a policy committee on peanut allergies.
"At clinics like ours we're now being swamped with children that have peanut allergies," Dr Loblay said.
"In the last five to 10 years there's been a steadily increasing proportion of food allergies due to peanuts. Now peanut, certainly after the age of two, is the most common food allergy."
AAP
Thanks for looking that up River. Still feeling sick about this incident.
It didn't make me feel any better today when the monthly newsletter from the teacher at my ds school had the following 'We ask again for your consideration in the matter of peanut butter and peanut products. We see lunchtime peanut butter sandwiches smeared on lunch mats. This avenue of cross-contamination is what we had hoped to avoid.'
Luckily he doesn't stay for lunch yet but because I hadn't heard anything I was assuming thre had been no problem with the introduction of a peanut-free school. Guess I'll have to try and stir those paarents who don't get it with some vivid information. Some people never do get it though do they.
I might see if there is any way I can help to further the lobbying for the federal government to look into and legislate on the whole area of peanut allergies and schools, daycare etc in Australia. Something just has to change before any more children's lives are cut short so needlessly.
Stay safe everyone.
[url="http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,4002981%255E701,00.html"]http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,4002981%255E701,00.html[/url]
[This message has been edited by smack (edited March 22, 2002).]
Article from "Daily Telegraph" Sydney
TRAGIC DEATH
By STAVRO SOFIOS
23mar02
IT BEGAN with an innocent trivia challenge. It ended minutes later with the death of
13-year-old Hamidur Rahman.
The Year 8 Hurlstone Agricultural High School student died after a severe allergic reaction, the
result of placing a spoonful of peanut butter in his mouth.
Hamidur was attending a week-long camp at Yanco Agricultural High School in the state's
southwest.
The teenager from Hinchinbrook in Sydney's southwest knew of his allergy and his parents twice
warned his school of it before he left for camp.
But a tragic mix-up apparently cost the popular student his life.
About 9.40pm on Wednesday
I got the above link from my this New Zealand site which could use probably a lot of help from our very informed professional posters!
[url="http://www.everybody.co.nz/cgi-bin/ubb-cgi/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number=2&SUBMIT=Go"]http://www.everybody.co.nz/cgi-bin/ubb-cgi/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number=2&SUBMIT=Go[/url]
And now you New Zealanders know that nogoober4me is really SMACK on this site.
-Sylvia MacKenzie(the canuck)
Is there a way we can send our condolences to his family through one of these newspapers?
Reading those articles made my hair stand on end. I'm so sorry for this child and his family.
Amy
Where was his EpiPen? Did he use it? How soon? Was it on his person or close by?
Didn't the people in charge of the game know that he had a peanut allergy?
Never put anything in your mouth unless you know what it is. God bless his soul.
My heart like everyone elses breaks for this family, what a needless tradedy.
I would be beside myself with one burning question in my mind. WHERE WERE THE ADULTS WHEN THIS GAME WAS BEING PLAYED?
My thoughts and prayers are with this family.
In all probability the adults were there when the game was played. It was trivia night which would most likely involve the whole camp, but as it said - the peanut was overlooked.
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