Markham teen Ben Stanton died on Tuesday, and though his cause of death has not yet been released, his volleyball coach did say the student had come into contact with peanuts before his death. His mother has mentioned he had a lifelong cardiac condition, saying he could have died of heart failure. I'm not sure what the condition was, but I do know that anaphylaxis can cause the heart to stop, so perhaps this is the case? The mere mention of peanut contact in relation has the allergy community talking, too.
I cannot explain how his death makes me feel. It is unfair, it is awful. I cannot possibly understand the utter tragedy of losing a child, and my deepest sympathies are with his family right now. Regardless of the cause, this is utterly awful.
The Eye-Opening Truth About What It's Like To Parent A Child With Allergies
Being the parent of a child with life-threatening allergies is hard. It's hard when they're little because they don't fully understand the severity of their allergies. We feel like if we just get to "that" point, maybe they'll be ok. We're told we're bubble-wrapping them by implementing food bans in classrooms, and often we overreact because, well, deaths happen because of allergies. How can we be expected to take it easy when our child's life is at stake? Is this what happened to Ben?
It's so difficult being a parent at all. We carefully dole out little bits of freedom and independence. We think once they're teens they understand how to keep themselves safe, we hope they make good choices, but still, deaths happen.
This news makes me so sad for Ben's family and friends, and so scared for my own little son who has to navigate a world where a food can so suddenly snatch his life from him.
Sometimes it's easier to just never read the news.
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