The mother of a 13-year-old girl who tragically passed away after drinking a hot chocolate has spoken out about what she regrets the most.
As previously reported, Hannah Jacobs, who had been allergic to dairy, fish, and eggs since early childhood, died just hours after taking a single sip of a hot chocolate from Costa Coffee.
The drink was reportedly made with dairy milk, despite specific instructions to use soya milk.
Hannah's mother, Abimbola Duyile, recounted the events leading up to her daughter’s death during the inquest.
Duyile explained that she had ordered two takeaway hot chocolates with soya milk from a Costa Coffee branch in Barking, East London, per Sky News.
She specifically informed the barista of her daughter’s life-threatening allergy to cow’s milk and requested that the milk jug be thoroughly cleaned to prevent cross-contamination.
The staff reportedly agreed to the precautionary measures.
However, shortly after leaving the coffee shop, Hannah took a sip of her drink and immediately sensed something was wrong.
“She abruptly got up and went to the toilet and shouted, ‘That was not soya milk,’” Duyile recalled, describing how her daughter began coughing and showing signs of a severe allergic reaction.
The situation quickly escalated as Hannah complained of chest pains, and her lips and mouth became swollen.
Despite her mother’s desperate attempts to get help, the teenager collapsed shortly after arriving at a nearby pharmacy.
Despite being administered an EpiPen injection and receiving resuscitation attempts from a pharmacist, Hannah was pronounced dead at the hospital by 1:00PM.
Duyile has told BBC Breakfast about her regrets from that tragic day.
"Most nights I stay awake thinking maybe there is something I could have done differently... maybe carrying an EpiPen with me," she said.
“I’m praying the government is listening to this,” Duyile said.
“If we can get the government to at least let people know the symptoms of someone having an allergic reaction, it will be amazing. They can save a life. Teach everybody how to use an EpiPen, whether it’s a kid or adult.”
Duyile also called for restaurants and coffee shops to be more transparent about allergens when taking orders and to improve signage on products containing allergens.
She stressed that her goal is to prevent other parents from experiencing the same loss.
During an inquest, Dr. Rahul Chodhari, who had been involved in managing Hannah's allergies, testified that an early dose of adrenaline could have been critical for her survival.
He noted that given Hannah's weight of 47 kg (103 lbs), the 150 mcg dose she received from the EpiPen was insufficient.
The inquest also found that Hannah died after a "failure to follow the processes in place to discuss allergies" and a "failure of communication" between the coffee shop staff and her mother.
