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A high-flying TV producer with a nut allergy was left in a coma, brain damaged and wheelchair bound after eating just one bite of a dish she ordered in a restaurant.
Amy-May Shead, 29, was with friends in Budapest in 2014 when she took just one mouthful of a chicken and rice dish and suffered a near-fatal anaphylactic reaction.
This was despite Amy informing the manager and the chef she had a nut allergy beforehand and was reassured it would be fine.
Two doses of her EpiPen failed to contain the reaction and emergency services were called, but Amy had been starved of oxygen for nearly six minutes and was left in a coma with severe brain damage. Doctors initially told her parents she would not survive.
Now wheelchair bound, Amy appeared on This Morning, the show she was once an online producer for, with her parents Roger and Sue Shead who are now fighting for allergies to be taken more seriously.
Presenters Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, who once worked closely with Amy vowed to support them. Eamonn added he would like nuts to be banned on flights after a recent story about a young boy who suffered an allergic reaction after several bags were opened near him.
He said: 'As we're on here and we know you, we will be fighting for these nuts to be banned on flights.'
Ruth comforted Amy throughout the interview. She asked Amy, who is unable to speak but can understand what was being said, what she thought of the debate and she communicated by blinking that she agreed there should be a ban in place on nuts on flights.
Severe nut allergy sufferer Amy May Shead appears on This Morning
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Amy-May Shead, centre, with her mother Sue and This Morning presenter Ruth Langsford, who was a former colleague of Amy's +8
Amy-May Shead, centre, with her mother Sue and This Morning presenter Ruth Langsford, who was a former colleague of Amy's
Amy (back row, centre) was an online producer for This Morning before she had a devastating reaction to nuts +8
Amy (back row, centre) was an online producer for This Morning before she had a devastating reaction to nuts
Amy was on holiday in Budapest when she ate just one mouthful of a chicken and rice dish at a restaurant that the chef had assured her was nut-free. She was left in a coma and is now severely brain damaged +8
Amy was on holiday in Budapest when she ate just one mouthful of a chicken and rice dish at a restaurant that the chef had assured her was nut-free. She was left in a coma and is now severely brain damaged
Ruth added: 'You’re so brave for coming on here, we all love to see you and we miss you on here.'
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Amy worked closely with Eamonn and Ruth and was often seen working away in the background on the on-air segments +8
Amy worked closely with Eamonn and Ruth and was often seen working away in the background on the on-air segments
Amy's mother Sue explained that whenever her daughter travelled she would carry a card in the language of the country explaining of her allergy.
Sue said that Amy had told the restaurant that she couldn't have anything with nuts and the chef had also been informed of the allergy, unfortunately just one mouthful of the chicken and rice dish she had selected, led to the catastrophic reaction.
Amy administered two shots of her EpiPen - and epinephrine autoinjector -used in an emergency to treat an anaphylactic reaction.
THE MOMENT AMY'S LIFE CHANGED
14 April 2014: Amy was on holiday in Budapest when she had an anaphylaxis reaction to one bite of food she ate at a restaurant.
Administered her EpiPen twice but then fell unconscious and was starved of oxygen for six minutes before being revived by medics.
Amy spent 19 days in Budapest ICU in a coma before stabilising. She was then flown home and spent 11 months in St Thomas' Hospital, London.
March 2015: She was then transferred to Putney Neurological Hospital and spent 316 days there.
January 2016: She was moved to a specialist care facility unit in Essex.
2017: Amy's parents are set to move into a specially adapted home to continue their care for their daughter.
It failed to counteract the allergy and it took half an hour for the medics to bring her back round.
Amy was placed on life-support when she arrived at the hospital in Budapest and her parents were told she may not survive the week, and was given just a thirty per cent chance of survival.
After she was stabilised she was then flown home and treated in St Thomas' hospital, London.
Since the incident, Amy's parents had to sell their home to fund the costs of the hospital treatment as the insurance didn't cover their daughter's condition. They rely on a trust set up in her name, The Amy-May Foundation.
They are backing a recent call for any nut-based snacks to be banned on any flights after a three-year-old recently suffered a severe allergic aboard a plane.
Singapore Airlines said they would review their policies on nuts in-flight after three-year-old Marcus Daley, who was returning home to Melbourne with his parents, had an anaphylaxis reaction when his fellow passengers were eating nuts.
His parents administered medication and were able to stop the reaction but it sparked a debate regarding how serious allergies are taken.