Michael, Lily King’s father, advises people, “We want to raise awareness that taking your kids on vacation anywhere if they have a severe allergy is dangerous.”
In June 2024, 18-year-old Lily King of Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, passed away from cardiorespiratory arrest brought on by food-induced allergy.
In June 2024, 18-year-old Lily King, like many college students, was overjoyed to learn that she had passed her first year at Exeter University in England.
Aicha, 57, tells PEOPLE that she received the news while traveling to Morocco with her mother.
Lily proposed going back to the restaurant they went to for her 17th birthday in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, to celebrate on their final night there.
Aicha hesitated. It would seem like a typical outing to most people, but Lily has allergies to most shellfish, dairy, almonds, fish, and sesame.
Aicha always made sure Lily had her EpiPen and antihistamines, and she carried safe food for her daughter whenever they traveled.
Her mother consented to travel after Lily assured her that she would exercise caution.
Lily consumed something at the restaurant that was either cross-contaminated, presumably from cooking oil, or contained an allergy. According to her parents, this resulted in a severe allergic reaction that killed her on June 23, 2024.
The family has since raised awareness of the dangers of allergies.
According to a coroner’s report that PEOPLE reviewed, Lily died after consuming a contaminated meal due to cardiorespiratory arrest brought on by allergy.
According to Dr. Sean Cummings, a Milton Keynes coroner in the United Kingdom, Lily’s death was preventable.
“We want to raise awareness that taking your kids on vacation anywhere if they have a severe allergy is risky,” Michael, 74, tells PEOPLE.
He thinks that the risks of serious allergies were not understood by the restaurant staff.
Maya Restaurant and Lounge representatives declined PEOPLE’s online message and could not be reached for comment.
Michael, who resides in Beaconsfield with Aicha, claims that although he had cautioned Lily about the risks, she was just eighteen and wanted to have fun. He says she was cautious.
According to Michael, she has experienced allergic reactions in the past, but none of them required an EpiPen. Although symptoms could occasionally be more severe, an antihistamine was typically sufficient to terminate reactions.
When Lily ate a cheeseburger at a music festival during her first year of college, she contracted her first case of anaphylactic shock from an unidentified component. Fortunately, emergency personnel were present, and she was given more adrenaline and her EpiPen.
Aicha, who knows Arabic, traveled to Morocco with Lily at least once a year. On occasion, Michael joined them.
Michael claims that because her mother was around her, she believed she was protected.
Before placing her order for grilled chicken and fries on June 19, 2024, Aicha informed the restaurant workers three times of Lily’s allergies. It will be safe, the waiter assured them.
Lily even said, “I’m not going to be killed,” to the waiter in Arabic, according to Aicha.
Within minutes of eating what she believed to be a carrot, Lily started to respond.
She told her mother, “Mom, my tongue is itching.” She should visit the hospital, Aicha advised. Lily used her EpiPen after taking an antihistamine. She said the sad words, “Mom, I’m sorry,” to her mother during this time. I cherish you. Mom, you are loved. But good-bye.
Her health rapidly deteriorated. When ambulance assistance was delayed, the restaurant demanded that woman pay the bill in full. Lily was unconscious when she was finally driven to a hospital in her nephew’s vehicle. Brain activity was not detected by scans.
A doctor informed Michael that Lily’s prognosis was not good when he arrived in Morocco. Despite being removed from life support, she was still receiving oxygen. As her heartbeat slowed, Aicha and Michael remained at her side.
Lily was the couple’s only daughter and a student of economics. Aicha had lost three pregnancies in the past.
According to Michael, we want to assist other parents in making knowledgeable food decisions when they travel, particularly in nations where food laws are less stringent or where they do not speak the language.
