Lily King has been described as ‘caring’ and ‘intelligent’ after her untimely death
An 18-year-old student tragically died on her mom’s shoulder after eating a simple meal of chicken and fries while on vacation.
Lily King, from the UK, has been described by her family members as being ‘caring’, ‘intelligent’ and ‘loved by many’ in the wake of her untimely death.
The teenager had just completed her first year at Exeter University when she went on vacation to Rabat, the capital of Morocco, with her mom in June.
Lily King had been celebrating her exam results ahead of her death. (Crowdfunder)
On the final day of their vacation, the pair went out for dinner at a restaurant where they’d eaten previously.
Conscious that her daughter had a number of allergies, mom Aicha, who is Moroccan, was ‘explicit’ with staff about what she ‘could and could not eat’, her husband Michael told MailOnline.
Lily’s allergies included dairy, fish, shellfish, sesame, and nuts, and Aicha claimed the waiter had told her not to worry, because they would be ‘careful’.
Aicha ordered Lily a meal consisting of grilled chicken and fries that had not been mixed in oil, and received those items plus some vegetables and a sauce on the side.
According to the mum, the waiter assured the carrots on the plate had been cooked in nothing but olive oil, and that there was nothing unsafe included.
But while Aicha was speaking to the waiter, Lily took a bite of the carrots and within minutes began to react.
Lily had a number of allergies. (Crowdfunder)
The mom recalled: “Lily said ‘it’s itchy, I give her a Piriton (allergy medication), and she used the toilet. After she came back, she said, ‘I can’t breathe’.
“I started calling the ambulance and we went outside, so she can try to breathe.
“We [used] the Epi Pen. But I left my bag inside the restaurant, and it had my passport and everything in it, I can’t leave it, and I went [inside] to get it back,” Aicha claimed.
The mom allegedly told the restaurant her daughter was ‘dying’, but was ordered to pay her bill before leaving again.
“They delayed her from leaving the restaurant by a few minutes that could have actually saved Lily’s life,” Lily’s dad said.
Lily attempted a second time to use an Epi Pen, but the treatment wasn’t enough to stop her reaction.
Lily attempted to use an Epi Pen to stop her reaction. (Crowdfunder)
Aicha recalled: “I’m screaming, there are security guards outside the door, but no one is helping me, nothing.”
Not able to wait for an ambulance, Aicha took Lily on the 30-minute journey to the hospital. By the time they got there, however, the teenager had already suffered a heart attack.
Aicha said her only child ‘died on [her] shoulder’.
“She told me ‘I love you, goodbye’ and then passed away,” she said. Lily was ‘basically diagnosed as being brain dead’, Michael said, but she was kept alive for three days to try and revive her.
Eventually, the parents ‘had to let her go’.
Lily’s cause of death was listed by doctors as a heart attack, but the Kings believe some allergen or cross-contamination on Lily’s meal must have caused her to stop breathing.
Police in Morocco have now launched an investigation into the restaurant, though the family are still waiting to hear about next steps.
Hoping to warn parents about being cautious on vacation, Michael said: “People have just got to be very careful and to educate their children about it.
“We tried our best and we did educate Lily, but she wanted to live.”
Aicha and Michael are now raising money in Lily’s memory for the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, which you can donate to here.
