Instead, it was an undiagnosed food-related anaphylactic reaction that claimed the life of the St Ives youngster.

A report to the coroner following the 2013 attack found that the most likely allergen to have triggered the deadly reaction was peanut, or possibly an undiagnosed allergy to cashews or kiwifruit.

Here, Marcus’s grieving aunt, Amanda Terranova, recalls that fateful August day, and shares feelings of the family’s loss. The Global Anaphylaxis Awareness and Inclusivity Ambassador for Change urges Australians to take allergies seriously. For Marcus’s sake.

“It was a balmy, windy and an unseasonably warm winters day in Sydney, Australia on Tuesday 6th August 2013.

I had decided not to attend the second day of an aged care conference. I was tired and managing a day of crippling anxiety. My body and heart were wrestling with my logical brain. I was experiencing a nervous anxiousness, akin to a feeling of dread and danger, which kept me on high alert the entire day.

Just after 5pm, my husband answered a call from his brother, John.

The colour drained from my husbands face as he explained that an ambulance had been called for Marcus, his eight-year old nephew.

“It doesn’t look good.”

My husband and I drove towards the Royal North Shore Hospital, in NSW.

“It doesn’t look good.”

We drove, mostly in silence with my husband repeating the words of his brother.

“It doesn’t look good”.

Marcus Terranova died from an undiagnosed allergy.Source:Supplied

We both commented that we were feeling physically sick but we comforted each other with;

“He has experienced asthma attacks before, it will be OK.”

“Hospital is the best place for him to be, it will be OK.”

“Let’s just get there safely, it will be OK.”

Life around us was slowing down and simultaneously speeding up.

It was starting to feel like a movie. A movie we were watching, but not a movie we had a part in. We ran to the emergency department, with heavy limbs and hopeful hearts.

My husband couldn’t talk.

“Our nephew has been brought in by ambulance, we are his Aunty and Uncle. His name is Marcus and he is eight years old.”

A nurse met us at the emergency doors. She was warm and professional.

“Please come with me, something has happened and I want you to be strong.”

We turned a corner in the hospital hallway and then another.

And then another.

We saw John first. Then we saw Marcus.

My memory is dusty, confused and muddled. Trauma does that. However, I do remember my husband, John and I grabbing for each other, forming a tight huddle and my husband screaming “No”.

This thought is vivid. Still. Most likely forever.

Marcus was dead.

I have used writing and poetry throughout my life, especially in times of grief or sadness. Cathartic. Sometimes I share with others, but more often I do not.

Some things are too painful to think about, to have the courage or the strength to actually write it down is unthinkable.

Some things you have to question ‘is this even my story to tell’? I wrestle constantly with the blurred lines of observer and participant.

The universe is currently conspiring against me. As so often happens when you do find the courage to speak, you find others with the same or similar experiences.

On the 6th of August in 2013 I sat firmly on the outside. It was a solid and safe place to sit.

During the seconds, hours, days, weeks, months and years that have followed, I have sat, uncomfortably at times, but always on the outside.

There were so many others grieving the loss of this dear little boy; his father, mother, sister, grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins, friends, teachers. My husband.

The whys, the viewing, the funeral, the gut wrenching sobs.

The loss, the gravesite, the Christmas, the Birthdays, the Easter, the holidays, the future.

The every things.

Marcus had a beautiful, loving and warm soul, a cheeky smile and a wonderful sense of humour. We still find it hard to believe he has gone.

I stayed on the outside. It was far too painful to process. As we approach Marcus’s 12th Birthday and the fourth anniversary without him, I have started to talk more openly, to think more openly. It still hurts.

Marcus didn’t have an asthma attack. He was being treated for eczema, asthma and allergies.

We didn’t know he was anaphylactic.

I can’t stay on the outside anymore.

Marcus you are in ALL of our hearts, forever. We promise.”

Because of Marcus’s story, Sydney teachers Courtney and Jarrad Dober founded CleverDux, creating a ‘see and save’ wristband system for students with medical conditions. For more information visit cleverdux.com.au

For more information on GLOBALAAI, visit www.globalaai.org

First aid courses in Canberra are needed to instruct students on how to deal with everyday first aid incidents. In this article you will learn about the first aid courses instructions and tips for heat exhaustion or hyperthermia.

With temperatures set to soar and humidity levels getting higher across the next few days, emergency services are advising people in the affected areas of of New South Wales and Queensland to take the proper precautions to prevent any medical issues.

These precautions cover a range of areas in conditions so it’s important to take note and be vigilant in the hot conditions for yourself and your family. The following issues are the main conditions that paramedics are treating and are mostly preventable:

Dehydration

Even if you are working inside in air conditioning, when the temperatures outside get warmer, you still need to make an concerted effort to drink enough water. It is recommended to maintain a healthy level of hydration to drink 2 litres of water a day.  Obviously if you are working outdoors or the outside temperature is extreme, you need to drink more to replace the water your body is losing through heat.

Symptoms: The most common symptoms of dehydration include dizziness, dry mouth, headache and loss of concentration.

Prevention: Take regular water breaks.  If you are working outside, ensure you take regular breaks in the shade and drink lots of water.  If you start to feel light-headed, you will need to sit down and take a longer break ensuring that you are drinking lots of water and taking lots of deep breaths to help restore the the oxygen levels in your body.

Asthma

The combination of extreme heat and no wind causes air pollution levels to increase which can cause problems for asthma sufferers. Over the past few days Sydney has experienced these conditions resulting in authorities issuing an official warning to those suffering from respiratory conditions.

Symptoms: Asthma sufferers may or may not experience an asthma attack but will experience symptoms that will make them uncomfortable.  When the airways become aggravated, asthma sufferers will usually experience tightening of the muscles around the airways which then results in inflammation and extra mucus production.

Prevention: If you or a family member suffer from asthma it is advised in these hot conditions to keep  indoors and out of the hot air. Ensure medication is being used frequently to stabilize any symptoms before they become too unmanageable.

Drownings

It is has been a tragic start to 2017 with a record number of drownings happening around Australia over the summer holidays.  Drownings are often preventable but as people now have more access than ever to bodies of water (backyard swimming pools, beaches, public swimming areas, etc) people can often become complacent when it comes to taking the proper safety precautions around water.

Symptoms: Unlike what is depicted in the movies, drowning is a silent killer especially when it comes to children.  This is why supervision, being a confident swimmer and swimming in groups is the best safety precautions you can take.

Prevention: Become water wise! This includes swimming between the flags if swimming at the beach; always have adequate supervision when children are swimming in a backyard pool; do not consume alcohol while swimming; be aware of conditions; do not swim alone and most importantly, learn CPR!

If you are interested in any of our CPR courses or general first aid courses available either on-site or at our training facility, contact us today for more information.

First aid courses in Australia are still using the technique of vinegar for tropical jellyfish stings, warm water for non tropical and for the blue bottle below warm water also. Until the Australian Resuscitation Council change the rules we will always teach there first aid course procedures. Check out there website in the link above

In recent decades, trusted first aid resources have recommended stings from man o’ war (Physalia species) be treated differently from other jellies. But when researchers at the University of Hawai’i — M?noa (UHM) dug into the scientific literature, they found scant evidence to support such individualized first aid. Adding to a recent push for evidence-based sting treatments, members of the Pacific Cnidaria Research Laboratory (PCRL) at UHM teamed up with colleagues in Ireland to investigate which commonly recommended first aid actions (such as rinsing with seawater) are the most effective for Physalia stings. Their results, published this week in the journal Toxins, defy the recent abandonment of historic advice, and suggest that man o’ war stings are no different than other jellyfish stings; the best first aid is to rinse with vinegar to remove any residual stingers or bits of tentacle left on the skin and then immerse in 45°C (113°F) hot water or apply a hot pack for 45 minutes.