When Hannah Glass decided to eat a homemade brownie, she hadnโt known that days later, her parents would be picking up her cremated remains. The college student had always been cautious about her peanut allergy but there was something hidden in the sweet treat that killed her after only two bites.
Glass had turned 19 only two days before.
A community in Wisconsin is mourning the heartbreaking loss of Hannah Glass, a bright and compassionate freshman at Maranatha Baptist University who tragically lost her life due to an unexpected allergic reaction to a brownie.
On November 5, the young woman, who turned 19 two days before, had a violent reaction to a brownie she received from a friend. Theย teenagerย had a known allergy to peanuts, and was usually careful, but she was unaware the sweet treat reportedly contained roasted peanut flour, an ingredient used as a gluten-free alternative.
โThe second bite, she knew something was wrong,โ Hannahโs father, David Glass, toldย WISN. The dad then explained her friend brought his daughter the brownie from a womenโs group on campus and while the treat was made with peanut flour to accommodate gluten-free students, it didnโt consider those with severe peanut allergies.
โWe believe because this product contained roasted peanut flour, separate from oily peanut butter, that masked this,โ continued David, who along with Hannahโs mother, Janean, raced about 45 minutes from their home in Milton, Wisconsin, to the school residence in Watertown.
โRight lung collapsedโ
Hannahโs reaction was aggressive and immediate. Her father shares that she had thrown up, welled up with hives, and managed to find some relief with Benadryl.
But when she crawled up to her top bunk to rest, her condition changed dramatically.
โWhen Hannah rolled on her side, the anaphylaxis reaction that we had not seen before hit incredibly hard. This caused her to gasp for breath, leading to the collapsing of the lung, further exacerbating the situation,โ the grieving dad writes in the Facebook post that he shared November 11.
That was when Hannah climbed down the ladder from her bed and lost consciousness โpart way downโ โ before her EpiPen was administered.
โI picked Hannah upโฆand carried her outside to wait for the ambulance to arrive,โ the father penned. โShe was completely unresponsive, and I was incredibly helpless.โ
Paramedics arrived and worked tirelessly to revive her, but Hannahโs heart had stopped for four minutes. She was immediately rushed to Watertown Hospital, before being transferred to Froedtert Hospital, where she was placed on a ventilator.
Brain โterminally damagedโ
Her family watched helplessly as doctors fought to save herย life, but the damage was severe.
โThe majority of her brain was unmistakably, seriously, critically, and without the life-sustaining measures in place, TERMINALLY damaged,โ David writes om Facebook of the brain damage sustained after having several seizures, which led to โsevere brain swelling.โ
โThere were no conversations of quality of life or anything like that. This was only life and death!โ
Despite the tireless efforts of medical professionals, Hannahโs brain suffered critical damage that left her without hope of recovery.
โEndless walkโ
Before Hannahโs final goodbye on November 10, 2024, she was honored with a traditional โHonor Walk,โ a touching tribute as she was taken to the operating room forย organย donation.
About 300 people lined the walls of the hallway for the walk, her family by her side until their โfinal goodbye.โ
โIt seemed like an endless walk, yet it was also going too quickly,โ David shared.
โGood to have her homeโ
โWe went and picked up Hannahโs cremated remains. It was and is a strange mix of emotions. There is still a strong sense of disbelief,โ David writes in a November 22, 2024 Facebook post. โHaving now, this physical, tangible, memorial of her physical life and body is nice, in one sense, because we now have something to see and to โhold on to,โ but it is also very sad because this is certainly not the same relationship that we had before. But, then again, it is good to have her home.โ
Now her parents are reminding people with food allergies to โAlways be aware. Make sure your EpiPens are up to date,โ David said.
Hannahโs organs have already saved four people who desperately needed lifesaving transplants.
Hannah Glassโs story is a poignant reminder of how fragile life can be and the importance of food allergy awareness. Her memory lives on not only through the lives she saved but in the hearts of those who knew and loved her.
