Woman, 24, dies of dairy allergy within days of proposal after 'stirring tea with spoon that had touched milk'
21 January 2023, 19:51
A young bride-to-be died when she 'accidentally used a spoon which had come into contact with milk'.
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Jess Prinsloo, 24, was on a romantic getaway to South Africa with boyfriend Craig McKinnon, also 24, where he proposed.
Craig asked Jess to marry him at God’s Window viewpoint in Mpumalanga on December 27.
Wiltshire marketing executive Jess said yes, with the pair travelling to her mother's house in Johannesburg on December 30.
But a day later she suddenly died of a severe allergic reaction to dairy.
It's thought to have been caused by contact with a teaspoon which had touched milk.
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Grieving fiancee Craig movingly wrote on Facebook: “It’s difficult to find clarity in today, the worst day of my life.
“But a point I have never been clearer on, the three-plus years I got with my Jess are irreplaceable, and I wouldn’t trade them for 60 years with any other person on earth.
“I am devastated, and feeling pain like I’ve never felt before, but anyone that spent time in her company knows what I mean when I say I have been blessed to call her my fiancée [for] the greatest three days of my life.”
Craig, who works for the AA, told The Mirror that Jess had "several near-misses" in the time that he knew her.
He also told The Mirror: “When Jess died, a part of me died too – but there is no one to blame for her passing away.
“Jess was sitting on the toilet lid, really struggling to breathe.
"She had used an EpiPen, but it wasn’t having the effect it normally has.”
The pair met at university in 2019 and moved in together two years later.
Jess had not been back to South Africa for six years.
Craig said he knew there was no better place to propose.
After her death, Craig faced faced medical bills of £3,700 plus £1,200 in coroner’s fees.
Alongside Jess's family, a GoFundMe page raised almost £2,500 from 81 donations.
Craig also said he hopes people will take allergies more seriously.
Craig said: “It is something people cannot control and it can kill them.
“I just want people to listen and understand how serious this is.”
