Distressing last text mum got from 25yo son

A 25-year-old is fighting for his life after his mum got a surprise text from the recent university graduate about the food he was eating.

A 25-year-old is fighting for life after his mum got a surprise text from the recent university graduate about the food he was eating.

George Cadman-Ithell, 25, was texting his mum Louise about a bag of “saucissons secs” salami he was eating on September 20.

“These are nice,” he wrote, according to the Sunday Times.

Three minutes later he texted again.

“F*** these contain walnuts.”

Mr Cadman-Ithell was diagnosed with an allergy to tree nuts when he was five. This included walnuts, cashews and almonds.

The packaging had been written in French. He had overlooked “aux noix” written on the packaging — which meant “with nuts” in French.

George Cadman-Ithell, 25, had an anaphylactic reaction. Picture: GoFundMe

He and his husband had been packing up their home to move in with a relative when Mr Cadman-Ithell dashed to the shops to get some food.

“He was busy. His mind was elsewhere. We always used to call him the absent-minded professor because he’s brilliantly clever, but common sense? Not always. I can imagine him just picking up the snack and saying, ‘Oh, I’ve had these before’ and not looking at the label,” Louise said.

Louise texted her son to call an ambulance. He asked if he should use his EpiPen but his mum never heard back from him after that. She believes he had sprinted home to get his medication.

Mr Cadman-Ithell’s sister Alexandra revealed her younger brother went into cardiac arrest. He was given CPR by his husband Joe Nolan. He was then taken to Princess Royal University Hospital.

“It has been a very scary time, but George is fighting with such strength, bravery and determination – and his hair still looks amazing,” his sister wrote in a GoFundMe.

He is allergic to tree nuts. Picture: GoFundMe

It wasn’t the first time Mr Cadman-Ithell had a reaction — he had experienced 15 bad reactions to food in the past. His mum said he always declared his allergy and did his best to avoid it. However, the belief was that he’d just get sick.

“He’d feel unwell, he’d vomit for an hour or so, his lips would swell and his throat would itch, but he never needed to use his EpiPen,” Louise told the publication.

However this time his brain was deprived of oxygen for 26 minutes. It caused severe brain damage.

But he is now breathing on his own and his vascular functions have been stable. His mum said it’s also clear he can hear what is going on. Her son often opens his eyes when his husband Joe speaks. However his brain activity has not made the same progress.

His family are sharing his story. Picture: GoFundMe

Alexandra revealed her brother had been moved to Regional Hyper-acute Rehabilitation Unit (RHRU) at Northwick Park in North West London on October 31.

She said he has settled in well but he is experiencing “neurostorms”.

“This is a common occurrence after brain injury, whereby the nervous system struggles to regulate properly,” Alexandra said.

“In George’s case, he is experiencing an elevated heart rate, high temperatures, and hyperactive contraction in his muscles – particularly in his arms and shoulders. He will be receiving injections of muscle relaxants to ease this symptom.”

She said in an update on November 12 her brother will have to become “medically fit” before he undergoes assessment.

Louise said she is sharing her son’s story so that it doesn’t happen to another family.

The UK introduced Natasha’s Law in October 2021. It requires all food outlets to provide full ingredients lists on it’s prepackaged for direct sale food. The law was introduced after Natasha bought a olives and artichoke sandwich at a Pret a Manger in Heathrow Airport. She thought it was allergen-free. But she suffered an anaphylactic reaction to sesame seeds baked inside the bread. Details of that were not on the packaging. Natasha died later that day.

Originally published as Distressing last text mum got from 25yo son