A 19-year-old college student from Wisconsin died from an allergic reaction after she ate a gluten-free brownie offered by her friend.
As reported by local news outlet WISN12, Hannah Glass suffered an allergic reaction on Monday, Nov. 4, from a brownie that reportedly contained roasted peanut flour. A friend from a women’s group on campus had given her the brownie, which contained peanut flour for gluten-free students.
Glass’ Lung Collapsed Moments After Eating the Brownie
Glass, who was a freshman at the Maranatha Baptist University, realized after a few bites that something was wrong, her father told WISN. “We believe because this product contained roasted peanut flour, separate from oily peanut butter, that masked this.”
Glass used her EpiPen and called her parents. At that point, she “had thrown up, she had the hives, but some Benadryl had made things better,” her father added. “After a few seconds of laying down, things changed dramatically. In hindsight, it’s at that point the right lung collapsed.”
Glass Suffered Seizures on the Way to the Hospital, Had ‘Severe Brain Swelling’ After She was Put on the Ventilator
Paramedics struggled to resuscitate her. Glass’ heart stopped for four minutes and was brought to Watertown Hospital. Due to her condition, she was transferred to Froedtert Hospital to seek further treatment, the Sacramento Bee reported.
During the transfer, Glass suffered seizures and was put on a ventilator. She experienced “severe brain swelling” and her body began to shut down. “The majority of her brain was unmistakably, seriously, critically, and without the life-sustaining measures in place, TERMINALLY damaged,” an update from her parents via Facebook said on Nov. 11. “There were no conversations of quality of life or anything like that. This was only life and death!”
Glass was taken off life support on Sunday, Nov. 10. She 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 released by 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 was set up for Glass’ family on the platform GiveSendGo. It has received nearly $28,500 in donations so far to help her family in their time of need. Following her death, four people received life-saving transplants.
