A teen passed away after eating a meal while on vacation.
Lily King from the United Kingdom tragically died after consuming chicken and fries at a local restaurant while on vacation in Rabat, Morocco.
The 18-year-old, who had just completed her first year at Exeter University, was enjoying the trip with her mother Aicha, and on the last night, they decided to visit a restaurant they had gone to previously as they were sure that it could adhere to the teen’s dietary restrictions.
Lily was highly allergic to dairy, fish, shellfish, sesame, and nuts so the 56-year-old communicated this to the staff at the establishment, even telling them in Arabic so there would be no misunderstandings.
“I explained to him [the waiter] in Arabic three times ‘Please be careful, she is very, very allergic,” the devastated mom told the Daily Mail. “He says ‘Yeah no worry, we careful.'”
However, as soon as Lily started eating her meal, she suddenly began experiencing symptoms of an allergic reaction, gasping for air and vomiting.
“She got an itchy throat, which developed into sickness, stomach cramps, and breathing problems,” her father Michael told the outlet.
The teenager attempted to use her Epi-Pen once she was allowed to leave as it was reported that staff initially tried to stop her and force her to settle the bill even when her life was in danger.
“They delayed her from leaving the restaurant by a few minutes that could have actually saved Lily’s life,” he added.
Aicha said she was already worried about the meal when it arrived at the table as it had some extra elements to her original order – which was a simple grilled chicken and fries with no oil.
However, the waiter assured the pair that it was just extra vegetables that had been cooked in olive oil and there was nothing to worry about.
Her mother Aicha was worried when the food arrived and it had extra things on the plate. Credit: JustGiving
While the 56-year-old continued to deliberate with the waiter, Lily had allegedly taken a bite of the carrots on the plate and started feeling uneasy.
“I can’t breathe,” she told her mother and even after trying some antihistamines which are supposed to help relieve some of the symptoms of an allergic reaction, things continued to get worse.
“I started calling the ambulance and we went outside, so she can try to breathe,” Aicha recalled. “We [used] the Epi-Pen. But I left my bag inside the restaurant, and it had my passport and everything in it, I can’t leave it, and I went [inside] to get it back.
“I told the restaurant, ‘My daughter [is] dying outside.’ He said to me, to pay the bill before you’re leaving [sic].”
After giving them the money, the panicked mother ran back outside to her daughter who had already administered her second Epi-Pen but again, to no avail.
The ambulance she had called was also taking a while to arrive, so the mom took matters into her own hands and drove her child to the nearest facility, which took another 30 minutes.
In that time, Lily had taken her final breath, telling her mother “I love you, goodbye” before dying on her shoulder.
Lily had suffered a heart attack before having a catatonic fit which destroyed her brain function, leaving her brain dead.
“They kept her alive for three days and gave her another test and there was no brain function detectable, and we had to let her go,” Michael said, noting that he and his oldest daughter from a previous marriage had rushed to Rabat after hearing about the news.
“‘We told [the doctors] exactly what happened in the restaurant,” Aicha said. “But on the death certificate that was issued subsequently, they said her cause of death was a heart attack.”
Lily suffered a heart attack and tragically passed away on her mom’s shoulder. Credit: JustGiving
The family is now seeking answers answers from the establishment, hoping to determine whether there was an allergen in the food or whether that had been some cross-contamination that led to Lily’s death.
Paying tribute to their daughter, Michael said: “Lily was loved by many, many friends. We had 60 or 70 of her friends and colleagues at the funeral, and they all signed a book of condolences, and they said the most marvellous things about her; how she was a shining light and made everybody laugh, and how she helped them with their problems.
He continued: “She was a very caring girl and very intelligent. With all her problems, she still managed to get to grammar school and get three A-Levels with grades for Exeter University to study Economics.”
The family is now raising awareness of the matter through their JustGiving page, hoping to fund more money into research on allergies.
Featured Image Credit: GMVozd/Getty
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Creators of controversial suicide pod respond to claims first person to die using it was found with ‘strangulation marks’
By James Kay
The creators of the “suicide pod” have spoken out following claims that the first person to use it was found with strangulation marks.
As previously reported, the device known as the Sarco Pod, developed by Exit International and operated by The Last Resort, allows users to end their lives through a controlled release of nitrogen gas.
This induces a painless death through oxygen deprivation.
Dr. Philip Nitschke, an advocate for assisted suicide who has been dubbed “Doctor Death,” created the pod with the goal of offering a humane, drug-free method of euthanasia.
An American woman’s death has since led to an ongoing criminal investigation in Switzerland, after she became the first to die using the device.
According to Nitschke, the woman appeared to die peacefully.
“It looked exactly as we expected it to,” he said in a statement to Dutch media, adding: “My guess is that she lost consciousness within two minutes and that she died after five minutes.”
The woman died on September 23 in the pod and Dr. Florian Willet, who was reportedly the only person present at the time of her death, was detained at the scene alongside two lawyers and a photographer and remains in custody.
Authorities are probing the woman’s death, raising suspicions of potential foul play after forensic experts allegedly observed serious neck injuries, per Dutch media.
Despite The Last Resort’s description of the woman’s death as peaceful, forensic evidence led investigators to question the cause.
Chief prosecutor Peter Sticher, who was present with police and forensics on September 23, said: “We found the capsule with the lifeless person inside… and brought them to the Institute of Forensic Medicine. An autopsy will be performed.”
However, no official autopsy report has been released, raising further questions.
The woman reportedly suffered from skull base osteomyelitis, a painful bone marrow infection that, according to a source close to The Last Resort, could have caused neck marks resembling strangulation.
Friends of the woman told NZZ that she had struggled with debilitating pain for two years, experiencing severe headaches and limitations on mobility due to an immune disorder that made treating the condition challenging.
The Last Resort shared a statement made by the woman before her death, in which she said, “I have had a death wish for at least two years” due to her “very serious illness.”
The Last Resort and Exit International have insisted the unnamed woman entered the pod willingly and pushed a button, which filled the pod with nitrogen, euthanizing her as planned.
In a joint statement, they described chief prosecutor Peter Sticher’s allegation of “intentional homicide” as “ridiculous and absurd”, per the Daily Mail.
The Sarco capsule, created using a 3D printer, works by filling the enclosed chamber with nitrogen, replacing oxygen, and rendering the occupant unconscious within minutes.
A camera records the final moments, and the footage is provided to coroners.
The Last Resort noted that the device is meant to be a free alternative for those seeking assisted suicide, with the only expense being the nitrogen cost of approximately 18 Swiss francs.