This Morning viewers were left in tears today when presenter Ruth Langsford met a former colleague who has brain damage after having an allergic reaction.
Three years ago, Amy May Shead, who is a former producer of the show, went on holiday with her friends to Budapest.
Although Amy told the restaurant about her nut allergy and even showed them her allergy card, after one bite of a chicken dish that she was told would be okay, she suffered a catastrophic anaphylactic reaction.
[ooyala code=”FsajZkYzE6yfZpoDT23c4B4F6925YDoh” player_id=”5df2ff5a35d24237905833bd032cd5d8″ auto=”true” width=”640″ height=”360″ pcode=”twa2oyOnjiGwU8-cvdRQbrVTiR2l”]
Despite using two EpiPens, Amy was left in a coma fighting for her life and even ‘died for six minutes’.
Amy’s parents, Sue and Roger, flew to Budapest as soon as they heard the news and were told by hospital staff that they did not expect their daughter to survive the week.
Amy continues to live with the devastating effects today, suffering from brain damage, unable to speak and is confined to a wheelchair.
Her parents discussed the incident and spoke about why people should be more aware of how dangerous nut allergies can be.
They are currently campaigning for nuts to be banned on planes as even the particles that go into the air could cause someone with an allergy to have a severe reaction.
Ruth also told Amy how much she admires her courage for coming onto live television:
You are so brave for coming on here and doing this for us.
We all love to see you. We miss you here.
Viewers took to social media to show Amy and her parents support and to praise Ruth for how well she dealt with the emotional interview on This Morning.
@thismorning Ruth what a caring real woman you are . Amy -May is an inspiration x ❤️ love and hugs xx
— marie (@mazzamazmaz) August 21, 2017
I'm in tears watching the lovely Amy on @thismorning. #NutAllergy is such an important thing to highlight – thank you! ?
Info: @AllergyUK1
— Ranj Singh (@DrRanj) August 21, 2017
Absolutely heartbroken over Amy's story. As if an allergic reaction can lead to that, bless her and her family ? #ThisMorning
— Kathy ? (@prettykitty_) August 21, 2017
Amy’s parents run The Amy May Trust which aims to raise awareness that nut allergies are serious, and raises funds to support Amy’s treatments.
You can find out more information here.