A bride-to-be died just days after a dream marriage proposal after stirring her tea with the wrong spoon. A severe dairy allergy meant Jess Prinsloo had spent her life watching everything she ate.
But just four days after her picturebook proposal in a South Africa beauty spot the 24-year-old had lost her life after suffering a massive allergic reaction. Now instead of returning to the UK to celebrate with their family and friends, fiance Craig McKinnon, has arrived back alone, carrying the ashes of the woman he had planned to spend the rest of his life with.
Heartbroken Craig said: "When Jess died, a part of me died too." And he is now wanting to raise awareness of how serious an allergy can be saying: “It is something people cannot control and it can kill them."
The couple were a week into their trip to South Africa when Craig got down on one knee to propose at the God’s Window viewpoint in Mpumalanga on December 27, reportsThe Mirror. He said: “Lots of her family live in South Africa and she hadn’t been back in six years, so I knew there was no better place to propose.
“My voice cracked as I got down on one knee and asked, ‘Will you marry me?’ She said, ‘Oh my God’ and started crying before she said yes. The look on her face… it meant everything.”
The couple celebrated for the next few days then headed to Jess’s mum’s house in Johannesburg on December 30 only for the tragedy to strike. It was here where it is believed Jess came into contact with dairy by stirring a cup of tea with the wrong spoon.
Within seconds, she went into anaphylaxis – a potentially fatal reaction causing the throat to close up – and died in hospital the next day, on New Year’s Eve. Marketing executive Jess always carried two EpiPens in case she suffered anaphylaxis but on this occasion, they failed her.
Craig said: “When Jess died, a part of me died too – but there is no one to blame for her passing away. But, God, she’d had several near-misses.”
Craig, who works for AA insurance, met Jess at university in 2019. The two moved in together after lockdown in 2021.
He told how he was woken by Jess' brother on the day she fell ill. Craig was told Jess was having a bad reaction.
Craig said: “Jess was sitting on the toilet lid, really struggling to breathe. She had used an EpiPen, but it wasn’t having the effect it normally has.” Jess was taken to hospital but doctors were unable to save her.
Craig believes years of allergic reactions had a cumulative effect on Jess, who had been allergic to dairy since she was nine months old. He recalled Jess telling him how she had to be resuscitated after eating milk in a curry when she was 18.
And he said: “Another time, she ordered a vegan dessert which shouldn’t have had dairy and she needed antihistamines, an EpiPen and a hospital trip. I haven’t eaten dairy for about three years because it just wasn’t worth the risk.”
Following Jess’ death, Craig, from Salisbury, Wilts, faced medical bills of £3,700 plus £1,200 in coroner’s fees. His mum and Jess’s brother Darren, 20, launched a GoFundMe page to cover the bills and pay for her funeral in South Africa on January 6.
But Craig, who is planning another send-off for Jess in the UK, is keen to make people aware of how dangerous an allergy can be. He said: "I just want people to listen and understand how serious this is.”
To find out more visit Allergy UK at allergyuk.org
