{"id":8729,"date":"2018-07-16T03:35:03","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T10:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nebulous-oyster.flywheelsites.com\/?p=8729"},"modified":"2023-08-07T07:51:14","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T14:51:14","slug":"peanut-allergy-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jennifermargulis.net\/peanut-allergy-death\/","title":{"rendered":"15-Year-Old Girl is Killed by Peanut Allergy\u2014Internet Says She Got What She Deserved"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Alexi

Death from a peanut allergy. Alexi was 15 years old. She died this week of anaphylaxis after eating a cookie that she did not know contained peanuts. (Photo via FB)<\/p><\/div>\n

15-year old girl is killed by peanut butter cookie\u2014internet says she got what she deserved<\/strong><\/h1>\n

By Robyn Charron, Special to JenniferMargulis.net<\/a><\/p>\n

On the afternoon of July 12th<\/sup>, 2018 Kellie Travers-Stafford created a Facebook post<\/a> that encapsulated every allergy parent\u2019s worst nightmare. Her teenage daughter, Alexi, died of anaphylaxis after eating a cookie from a package she assumed was safe because it so closely resembled cookies she\u2019d had before.<\/p>\n

That single cookie took her child\u2019s life in an hour and a half.<\/p>\n

To drive her warning home, Alexi\u2019s mom posted two photos of Chips Ahoy packaging side-by-side.<\/p>\n

While the top of the package is labeled with the phrase \u201cpeanut butter\u201d in one version and the Reese\u2019s logo in a second version, Mrs. Travers-Stafford explained that the top-side peanut labels are covered up once the package flap is opened.<\/p>\n

Everything else about the safe and deadly packages is nearly identical.<\/p>\n

\"Chips<\/p>\n

\"Chips<\/p>\n

Too late<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Alexi\u2019s mother wrote that her daughter received epinephrine from two autoinjectors, but it was too late to save her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to spread awareness so that this horrible mistake doesn\u2019t happen again,\u201d she wrote.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To rephrase, Alexi\u2019s mom wanted her story to serve as a warning<\/em> to other allergy parents so that their own peanut allergy children aren\u2019t killed<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The internet responds to this peanut allergy death\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Within 48 hours the story had been shared 55,000 times across Facebook with over 14,000 comments on the original post, not all of them sympathetic.<\/p>\n

People seem to think that stupidity\u00a0<\/em>linked with the peanut allergy is to blame for this child\u2019s death, and many feel that weak genetics are being weeded out with such senseless tragedy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess these people want the cookie to rise up out of the damn package on its own, light up, spin around, and sound an alarm that says, PEANUT PEANUT,\u201d wrote Cristina Mauro Hernandez.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurvival of the fittest!\u201d sang Nichole Curtiss.<\/p>\n

Atemu LaValley chimed in with, \u201cThere\u2019s a giant Reese\u2019 logo. This is what\u2019s known as \u2018Darwinism.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry she passed,\u201d consoled Nicole Gibson, \u201cbut she should have been taught to pay attention, not go by color.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candie Heathcock advised, \u201cA f—- 15 year old who has a peanut allergy should be f—– reading the packaging. Y\u2019all want sh— done for you. You aren\u2019t babies who need bright colors to learn. READ DUMBA—- READ.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peanut allergy death not Nabisco’s fault?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

On average, every twentieth comment on the mother\u2019s post pointed out that her daughter\u2019s death was not Nabisco\u2019s fault, the child should have read the ingredients, or that the person commenting knows other allergic children who have the common sense not to have made this mistake. At worst, commenters had the audacity to let the parents know this was simply how nature takes its course.<\/p>\n

It gets worse on the pages that shared the story. Writer and political commentator Mike Cernovich tweeted the post<\/a>\u00a0to his 400,000 followers, and shared it to his Facebook page<\/a>\u00a0as well.<\/p>\n

In a series of tweets, he admitted that until that day, he didn\u2019t know that the peanut allergy could kill someone, and thought the information would help save lives.<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

\u201cSeriously, Look. Sorry you lost your teen but, and I know I\u2019m going to be called an a—– but I\u2019m just calling it how I see it, your kid was kind of an idiot,\u201d said Jake Schmidt on the Cernovich post; 46 people liked the comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cSad, but OK she was 15. Then I would call this natural selection,\u201d said Rafeal Suarez.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell it says right there. Maybe your kid should read and look at things before eating them (that\u2019s how you get poisoned),\u201d wrote Chris Cyrus, followed by three emojis that are laughing so hard that tears are coming down their faces.<\/p>\n

Many on Your Baby, Your Way\u2019s own page<\/a>\u2014a gentle parenting page dedicated to educating mothers to make informed choices\u2014were equally unsupportive.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will say I\u2019m a b—- but shouldn\u2019t she have read the ingredients? That was so careless on her end\u2026\u201d wrote Tanisha Jones.<\/p>\n

For their part, Chips Ahoy has no regrets about the similarities in their packaging.<\/p>\n

\"Chips<\/p>\n

Overall, the consensus of the unsympathetic crowd is that given the hand they\u2019ve been dealt, allergic children should know better and should be more adept at navigating the world.<\/p>\n

Why are peanut allergies now killing our kids?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Interestingly, almost no one asked why peanuts are now killing our children.<\/p>\n

We are living in the middle of a peanut allergy epidemic, with 1 in 41 American children<\/a>\u00a0at risk of death from peanut exposure.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We don\u2019t have all of the answers about how the peanut allergy epidemic began, but I\u2019ll tell you one of the quickest ways to make an anaphylactic rat in a laboratory: injecting nut protein and aluminum<\/a>\u00a0under the skin. You tell me whose fault this is?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not an exaggeration to say that hell hath no fury like the person whose snack has been inconvenienced by an allergy kid.<\/p>\n

There is no disability in the world that is so socially acceptable to mock and disparage as food allergy. Peanut allergy children bear the brunt because of Americans\u2019 love affair with peanut butter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peanut allergy kids are the wet blanket on the party.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re the reason homemade cookies aren\u2019t allowed in class for birthdays.<\/p>\n

The reason parents are forced to think beyond a peanut butter sandwich when sending their child\u2019s lunch to school.<\/p>\n

Hating on peanut allergy kids<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To many Americans, peanut allergy kids are weak little Debbie Downers who would be killed off if it weren\u2019t for EpiPens.<\/p>\n

Perusing Twitter\u2019s peanut allergy posts only for the last four days, I read:<\/p>\n

Username samcrwll: \u201cImagine going through 9 months of pregnancy and hours of labor just for your child to have a peanut allergy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Username natalyolo: \u201cMy kid better not come out with some kind of peanut allergy sh\u2014if that\u2019s the case some sacrifices will be made and it\u2019s not peanut better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Username dpugh99: \u201cAllergies are an individual\u2019s issue not the public\u2019s. Smother the tw\u2014in peanut butter and be done with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Username yagirlerykah: \u201cIf our kid has a peanut allergy we\u2019re giving it back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Username livsantarsiero: \u201cI hope this isn\u2019t offensive but have you ever just met someone that looked like they would have a peanut allergy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Username lDanngo: \u201cIf you are ever arguing with someone with a peanut allergy, just tell them \u2018shut up before I throw a peanut at you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Username AdisonBarnhart: \u201cOMG nowadays you can\u2019t pack PB&J for your kid\u2019s school lunch because too many kids have peanut allergies. I. Would. Die.\u201d<\/p>\n

Username ruthiehodo_: \u201cNatural selection is coming for those with peanut allergies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Username patsfandave32: \u201cWhy are people with peanut allergies ruining it for the rest of us?\u201d<\/p>\n

Our hearts are broken for Alexi\u2019s family, and it is shocking to see such a large percentage of people on social media espousing ignorance for the whole world to read.<\/p>\n

\"Symptoms

Symptoms of a severe peanut allergy may include difficulty breathing, throat tightening, vomiting, nausea, trouble speaking, dizziness, fainting, and more. Administer an Epi-pen and seek emergency medical treatment immediately. (Screenshot via UK’s Anaphylaxis Campaign)<\/p><\/div>\n

Have compassion for those with disabilities<\/strong><\/h3>\n

My message to parents who have a problem accommodating these kids is to grow up.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Count your blessings that your parenting decisions haven\u2019t resulted in a deadly allergy.<\/p>\n

Teach your children to have compassion for those with disabilities.<\/p>\n

Start by leading with your own example.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re talking about life and death over junk food<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Which one is more important?<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re in the majority of people who empathize with parents of allergic kids, please speak up when you see attacks on these children.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many of us don\u2019t hesitate to say it\u2019s uncool when people use the R-word or talk down about children with autism<\/a>, but we laugh nervously when an adult is trashing a kid with a deadly allergy.<\/p>\n

What is funny about anaphylactic shock, exactly?<\/p>\n

You can read more about severe allergic reactions in my son Rory here<\/a>, and about the deaths of a 13-year-old named Natalie here<\/a>, a 16-year-old named Simon here<\/a>, and a 19-year-old named Chandler here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Prior<\/i><\/p>\n

About Robyn Charron:<\/strong> Prior to attending law school, Robyn Charron earned a bachelor of science in biology. She worked for two years in laboratories researching genetic disease. Her firstborn suffered a vaccine injury at two months old. After that, her conventional parenting went out the window. She embraced organic foods, supplements, essential oils, plant medicine, and healing. In her home town of Denver, Colorado, she advocates for parental rights to make medical decisions without government intervention.<\/p>

Related posts:
\nAirborne Allergies Could Kill My Child<\/a>
\nSevere Reaction to COVID-19 Vaccine: Hospitalized for 5 Days<\/a>
\nTylenol: The Pain Reliever Class Action Lawsuits Need to Target Most<\/a><\/p>\n

Published: July 16, 2018
\nLast update: August 7, 2023<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

15-year old girl is killed by peanut butter cookie\u2014internet says she got what she deserved By Robyn Charron, Special to JenniferMargulis.net On the afternoon of July 12th, 2018 Kellie Travers-Stafford created a Facebook post that encapsulated every allergy parent\u2019s worst nightmare. 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