The parents of a teenager who died after eating apple crumble at his grandma's house have spoken out about the teenager's love for life.
Max McKenzie died in 2021 after going into anaphylactic shock. He had a known nut allergy and had no idea the dessert had traces of walnut.
Despite using his Epipen - which autoinjects adrenaline into his body - the 15 year old developed sudden asthma.
He was rushed to hospital and spent 13 days in intensive care before dying.
Life hasn’t been the same for parents Tamara and Ben McKenzie since his death and they have now spoken out about their loss.
Mum Tamara told 7 News in Australia: '“It never will be (the same) and we miss him every second of every single day."
His dad Ben added: “He loved life.
"He was out of bed at six o’clock every morning and was keen to do whatever was on the program for that day."
Speaking about Max's allergy his dad added: "Max never had to go to hospital.
“That’s one of the things, we still don’t know - who is at risk of dying.
"Whether your reaction’s mild or not, it’s not going to be a guide for the severity of the next reaction.”
The family from Melbourne, Australia are now trying to raise awareness about how people can support someone who may be experiencing anaphylaxis.
Dad Ben, who is also an emergency physician, added: “People with allergies will say there’s something wrong, that they feel funny, that they’ve got an itchy mouth, and they feel a bit short of breath or that their throat feels tight.
“EpiPens are important but they’re not the entire treatment of anaphylaxsis.
"Calling triple-0 [999 in the UK] is just as important because you might need three EpiPens that day and you might only have one.”
Max’s classmates and eight other schools in Melbourne are participating in a fundraiser for Australia's National Allergy Council (NAC) and National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE) to improve prevention and care for anaphylaxis.
“We want Max to be remembered and his death to not be in vain and we want to make sure something good comes from it and we know he would want that too,” mum Tamara added.
