Friday, April 29, 2016

'Dad, I'm dying': The heartbreaking words a boy, 15, said to his father at a junior camp


Jack Glen Irvine, 15, (pictured) who had a nut allergy, died in September 2012 after he ate a biscuit containing macadamia nuts which was supplied by the company running a go-kart camp he was participating in
Jack Glen Irvine, 15, (pictured) who had a nut allergy, died in September 2012
after he ate a biscuit containing macadamia nuts which was supplied by the
company running a go-kart camp he was participating in


'Dad, I'm dying': The heartbreaking words a boy, 15, said to his father at a junior camp after organisers gave him a biscuit with nuts in it - even though they knew he was allergic

  • A go-kart company gave a 15-year-old with a nut allergy food with nuts
  • The Victorian company knew of his allergy but failed to act
  • He died in 2012 after he ate a biscuit with macadamia nuts
The father of a boy with a nut allergy who died after eating a biscuit containing macadamia nuts has described watching his son's lips go black and hearing him say he was dying.

Jack Glen Irvine, 15, died in September 2012 after he a biscuit and went into anaphylactic shock at a junior development go-kart camp in Oakleigh, Victoria. 

The go-karting organisation hosting the event knew about the teenager's nut allergy but failed to act before he unknowingly ate the cookie.

His father, Robert Irvine recalled how his son thought his asthma was 'playing up' and asked for an ambulance, 7 News reported.

 He was rushed to hospital, but died six days later. 
The white chocolate and macadamia cookie was part of a lunch provided by the Victorian Karting 

Association (VKA) at a camp it was holding.
VKA had been informed of Jack's nut allergy but 'failed to take any meaningful steps' to act on the information, Coroner Audrey Jamieson said in her findings, which were released on Friday.

The coroner said Jack's death was preventable and made a number of adverse findings about the karting association.

VKA had no policies or procedures in place at the time on how to safely conduct a junior camp whose participants - including children - had food allergies.

Ms Jamieson found VKA made no meaningful attempt to cater for participants who had disclosed food allergies on their camp registration forms.

The catering process was inadequate and had no regard for the food allergies they knew about, she said.
For lunch on the camp's first day, the VKA had ordered food from Subway, which included a platter of mixed cookies, according to the coroner's report.

The food was laid out for camp participants, parents, and VKA volunteers, but there was no information about what the food contained, or where it was from.

After Jack picked up a cookie, his father, a VKA member, asked the teen if the cookie he had selected contained nuts.

The 15-year-old snapped it open and said it was white chocolate.
Mr Irvine then watched his son eat the cookie, neither aware that it contained macadamia.

About 40 minutes later, the teen started displaying symptoms similar to an asthma attack. He collapsed and was taken to hospital, where doctors later told his parents he would never recover.
They decided to donate his organs, and the 15-year-old died on September 30, 2012. 

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