New York City officials are investigating the death of a 3-year-old boy who died as a result of an allergic reaction to dairy after the school he attended gave him a grilled cheese sandwich. The school was apparently aware that 3-year-old Elijah Silvera had a severe dairy allergy but he was given the sandwich anyway.
The boy was attending a pre-K class on November 3 at Seventh Avenue Center for Family Services in Harlem when he died. The 3-year-old Silvera was rushed to the hospital when he went into anaphylactic shock after eating a grilled cheese sandwich at the school. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
A Go Fund Me has been setup for Silvera's family and a close family friend commented on the site saying, "…he was given a grilled cheese sandwich by an adult at the pre-K, despite them knowing and having documented that he has a severe allergy to dairy."
The family friend also said the school officials called Elijah's mother when the incident happened and did not call an ambulance. It was the boy's own mother who raced to the school and then ten blocks to the Harlem Hospital with her dying son.
Silvera's family said online they want answers and an investigation to determine if proper protocols were used, "…at this moment, it is unclear where responsibility for Elijah's death will fall between the pre-K and the hospital itself."
The family went on to say, "We want to find out exactly where if any, breakdowns may have occurred at either the school or the hospital." The family is planning on using the money from the Go Fund Me campaign to conduct an independent autopsy.
New York City Health Department officials released a statement on the matter Wednesday saying,
"There is nothing more important than the safety of our children and we are deeply saddened by this tragedy. We will get to the bottom of what happened here. In the meantime, we’re closing the Center for Family Services and continuing to aggressively investigate what happened and whether the facility could have done something differently to prevent this tragedy."
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