A family is mourning and a community is in shock after a 12-year-old girl collapsed at a Burlington mall this week and died from what doctors say was a severe allergic reaction.
Maia Santarelli-Gallo was having ice cream with her father and older sister at Mapleview Centre on Thursday afternoon when she went into anaphylactic shock.
“We were eating ice cream. We go walk around. She tells me she doesn’t feel good,” her older sister Zoe said. “We went to the bathroom and the next thing I know is she needs her inhaler and there’s someone in the mall giving her CPR.”
Maia was given an EpiPen and was rushed by paramedics to Joseph Brant Hospital without vital signs and was later pronounced dead.
It’s still unclear what the Grade 7 student was allergic to. She wasn’t allergic to peanuts and other nuts like her sister Zoe, but she was allergic to various foods.
A visitation will be held for Maia on Sunday with a funeral service planned for Monday in Stoney Creek.
I Think that we should all stop saying stupid things and just pray and support this wonderful family at this very diffucult time, the last thing they need right now is stupid remarks from anyone. Let’s all say a prayer for this precious Angel that just joined God……. may God give you all the strenghts to go on and keep her wonderful memories alive in your hearts and may God bless you all ….. your precious Angel will be watching from up above
This is very upsetting to hear i am so sorry for your loss she will always be in my prays she was a beautiful young girl talented girl <3
I was at the mall when she died. I saw the stretcher come out with the medical team pumping air in her. I saw her sister and dad crying. I pray for there family. One of the saddest things I have ever seen
this little girl could have died from an allergy to perfume as well. As someone that suffers from this it is very difficult to go out to the doctors, groceries or even sit in your backyard some days. Women and man both seem to be bathing in their perfumes. Not to mention all the laundry companies are now over loading our senses with their new scents. I have a neighbor I have spoke to and asked her to please use tide original and a scent free dryer sheet. Knowing this is a lot to ask I explained that when she uses the heavy perfumed products I have to leave my yard as my throat closes from it. She said she would but never has in fact she is now using products with even more perfume. Doctor offices are putting signs up for no perfume and people just ignore them. If this is what happened to this poor little girl I can understand it but no matter what happened to her it is a sad sad event for her family and friends. We have a false sense of safety in our malls and public in general.
Are you serious, you obviously didn’t read the news that she wasn’t allergic to peanuts. Get your facts straight. My heart goes out to the family.
are you kidding me??
This is so tragic, and our hearts go out to the family, we live with this fear on a daily basis as our daughter suffers from anaphyllactic allergies. We insist that she wears an epi-pen and also has a back up with her.
In this case I wonder how long after her first reaction symptoms did she have a shot from the epi-pen? This is so important that the epi-pen is given ASAP.So many people who suffer with this allergy do not realize how important it is to respond aggressively and quickly to the first signs of a reaction. Even worse the general public have little or no idea , what to do and when.
Epi-pens should be in all ice cream, food stores and restaurants.The staff need training.
God Bless this family.
a terrible mishap…..
i would like to say this to her father and mother. did you guys gave your daughter any vaccine or any pills for any reason recently?
There are just so many possibilities of what could have caused the problem. It could be cross contamination if there are many types of ice cream present. It might be a reaction to food preservatives or to food colouring.
There might be microbial contamination (bacteria, moulds, other) in the ice cream, on the ice cream scoop, on the ice cream cone if there was one, or even some problem with the paper serviettes.
The girl might have inhaled mould or other toxic dust particles for example. Maybe there is a mouse nest or a bird nest in the mall’s ventilating system?
Maybe there were noxious chemicals used to clean the bathroom? Or chemical residues left in an ice cream mixing machine somewhere?
There might have been a “normal” allergic reaction that was greatly aggravated by some other factor. There are far too many possible causes at this point, without having any further information.
There was probably egg in the damn ice cream! My daughter is allergic to egg and we found out the hard way at Christmas to always read the label. Thankfully she’s fine.
My heart goes out to the family. Food allergies are misunderstood and most often people just don’t care.
@Perfect Idiot
“She wasn’t allergic to peanuts and other nuts like her sister Zoe, but she was allergic to various foods.”
Read more carefully.
Has the thought of artificial flavoring in the ice cream been considered,???????? as a allergen
Allergies can come on at any time for anyone! I had your typical allergies coming on for years now and then out of the blue a very serious reaction – anaphalaxis of sorts – angioedema which means vessel swelling. God love the family. There is nothing more you can do under circumstances as these and they can pretty much hit indiscriminately. My sincere condolences to the family.
May the happy memories live in your hearts and minds forever. God bless <3