A college student in Wisconsin has died from an allergic reaction to a brownie she was given by a friend.
Hannah Glass, a Maranatha Baptist University freshman, suffered a fatal allergic reaction from a brownie that reportedly contained roasted peanut flour.
After a few bites, the 19-year-old realized something was wrong. Even though Benadryl seemed to help the situation, ‘after a few seconds of laying down, things changed dramatically,’ her father told WISN.
‘In hindsight, it’s at this point the right lung collapsed,’ he said.
Glass had been given the brownie, which was made with the substitute flour for gluten-free students, by a friend from a women’s group on campus.
According to a Facebook post, Glass had vomited and broken out into a rash but was still able to breath and speak clearly while on the phone with her parents.
As her symptoms calmed after taking the Benadryl, she lay down on her stomach.
When Glass tried to get up, she curled into the fetal position and complained of extreme shortness of breath.
She climbed down the ladder from her bed and lost consciousness before her EpiPen was administered.
By the time paramedics arrived, they struggled to resuscitate her, and the teenagers heart stopped for four minutes.
It was then she was taken to Watertown Hospital before being transferred to Froedtert Hospital for further treatment.
During her transfer she suffered seizures, ‘severe brain swelling’, and was put on a ventilator.
‘The majority of her brain was unmistakably, seriously, critically, and without the life-sustaining measures in place, TERMINALLY damaged,’ wrote her family on Facebook.
‘At this point there was no actual decision to be made, except that we decided to donate her body to help others have the chance at life she no longer had.
‘And to prevent other parents or loved ones from having to endure the torture we had over the previous week.
‘The events of these past few days create almost a mountain in my mind. They were so emotional, so surreal, and so physically draining, that it seemed like I was unable to look past them to see even the things that happened the week before.’
Before her body was donated, she was taken on the traditional ‘Honor Walk’ into the operating room.
Glass was ‘an exceptional student and a sweet-spirited servant in her church, with a heart for reaching souls with the gospel’, according to a statement from the university.
‘She made a tremendous impact in her first year on campus and in the Academy, where she was conducting her education fieldwork.
A fundraiser to support her family was set up on GiveSendGo, which has currently received more than $28,000.
Her grandmother wrote that college was ‘Hannah’s big dream and passionate goal for years’ and added: ‘The hole that Hannah leaves can never be filled. Her memories are what we will cherish till we meet her in Heaven.’
Following her death, Glass was able to give four people lifesaving transplants.