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<\/p>\nIt was a picture-perfect holiday vacation for the Debbs family, full of fun activities for the children and plenty of family time. The South Florida family, which was vacationing in the Northeast at the time, even got to enjoy a white Thanksgiving.
\n\u201cYes, he got to have snow,\u201d Merrill said of her 11-year-old twin son, Oakley.
\nFor one South Florida family, the pain of losing an 11-year-old son with a food allergy is fueling their drive to keep others safe.<\/p>\n
But that all changed when on that Wednesday night in 2016, Oakley ate a bite of pound cake that had been sliced and left on the kitchen counter.
\n\u201cHand bite,\u201d she said. \u201cNo slice, no knife, no fork. Nothing significant.\u201d
\nThe cake had walnuts and Merrill remembers how Oakley immediately became worried.
\n\u201cHe says, \u2018Mommy, I think I just ate a nut,\u201d she said Oakley told her. \u201cI was like, what? He\u2019s like, \u2018I think I just ate a nut.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
At first, Oakley seemed fine.
\n\u201cHe doesn\u2019t have a hive, he doesn\u2019t have a blister,\u201d Merrill said. \u201cDoesn\u2019t feel anything at all.\u201d
\nMerrill gave Oakley over-the-counter allergy medication, as a precaution. Oakley took a shower and got ready for bed. But over an hour and a half after eating the pound cake, Merrill said he started complaining about stomach pain.
\n\u201cI\u2019m rubbing his back and he\u2019s just lying there,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s not saying anything and I think, \u2018well maybe he\u2019s starting to fall asleep.\u2019\u201d
\nBut he soon worsened and started vomiting, she said.
\n\u201cHe sits up, straight up,\u201d she said. \u201cEyes are big. Runs to the toilet and vomits gain. But this time the difference is his eyes start to swell up and he says, \u2018my throat, my throat, my throat.\u2019 His throat starts to close up. He tells me to call 911. That\u2019s the last thing he said to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Merrill did not have epinephrine \u2013 the treatment of choice during a life-threatening reaction. By the time paramedics arrived and gave Oakley a shot of epinephrine, Merrill said it was too late.
\n\u201cThe epinephrine stopped the reaction inside his body but at this point, the heart had stopped too long and there wasn\u2019t enough oxygen going to his brain,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was basically brain dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A few days later, the Debbs family made the difficult decision to say goodbye to Oakley.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a tough story,\u201d she says, wiping tears from her face.
\nBut it is a story Merrill wants others to hear.
\n\u201cHopefully somebody else hears me, hears this story and decides to put together an emergency plan for their child,\u201d she said.
\nThat is something Merrill believes could have helped save Oakley\u2019s life. He had a history of asthma and had been diagnosed with a nut allergy, which is why she said they avoided nut products.<\/p>\n
Nearly seven years after losing Oakley, the pain is still raw and the grief never ends.
\nBut over the years, Merrill has turned that pain into action. She started Red Sneakers for Oakley, shortly after his death, to raise awareness about food allergies and honor her son\u2019s life. The organization is named for his love for red sneakers.
\nShe thinks about her son every day.
\n\u201cHe was a great kid,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s so many things that remind me of him."
\nWhen you ask me to tell you the story, and let me tell you about my son, my son only lived to be 11. So I have those 11 years to tell you about.
\nMerrill Debbs
\nMerrill would like to see additional funding for food allergy research.
\nShe said they are also pushing for an online resource guide and more uniform school policies and training requirements related to food allergies statewide.<\/p>\n
If you or a family member has been diagnosed with a food allergy, learning as much as you can about the allergy and advocating for yourself or your family is the best thing you can do to stay safe.
\nTake the time to understand your allergy and how to manage it. Write down any questions you may have before your doctor\u2019s appointment: What is epinephrine? What options do you have to administer it? When should you use it? What are the signs of anaphylaxis?
\nFARE has a long list of resources that may help you navigate a food allergy diagnosis.
\nYou can learn more about food allergies from the Food and Drug Administration.<\/p>\n
The story of Oakley Debbs is a tragic reminder of the importance of being prepared for food allergies. By sharing her story, Merrill hopes to raise awareness and prevent similar tragedies from occurring.
\nIt is crucial for families to have an emergency plan in place, including access to epinephrine and knowledge of how to administer it.
\nBy working together, we can create a safer environment for those with food allergies.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the most important thing for families to do when dealing with food allergies?
\nA: The most important thing is to have an emergency plan in place, including access to epinephrine and knowledge of how to administer it.
\nQ: How can I learn more about food allergies?
\nA: You can visit the FARE website or the Food and Drug Administration website to learn more about food allergies and how to manage them.
\nQ: What is Red Sneakers for Oakley?
\nA: Red Sneakers for Oakley is an organization started by Merrill Debbs to raise awareness about food allergies and honor her son\u2019s life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to a Tragic Event It was a picture-perfect holiday vacation for the Debbs family, full of fun activities for the children and plenty of family time. The South Florida family, which was vacationing in the Northeast at the time, even got to enjoy a white Thanksgiving. \u201cYes, he got to have snow,\u201d Merrill said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19454","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-wellness"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.nbcmiami.com\/2023\/09\/OAKLEY-AND-MOM-1.png?fit=1210,681&quality=85&strip=all&w=1210&resize=1210,681&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19454"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19454"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19457,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19454\/revisions\/19457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}