Health
Teen’s sudden death from peanut allergy leads to dramatic family decision
A family in Wisconsin is mourning the loss of their teenage daughter after she died from an allergic reaction — but they have found some comfort in the lives her donated organs have saved.
Hannah Glass, 19, was a freshman at Maranatha Baptist University and had lived with a severe peanut allergy since she was a toddler.
After taking a bite of a brownie that she did not know was made with peanut flour, she experienced an allergic reaction that ultimately led to irreversible brain damage and death.
20 WORST PLACES TO LIVE IF YOU HAVE ASTHMA, PER MAJOR HEALTH ORGANIZATION
The teen’s parents, David and Janean Glass, spoke to Fox News Digital on camera to discuss their tragic loss and to share a cautionary message for other families. (See the video at the top of this article.)
The family first learned of their daughter’s allergy when she was 3 years old, when the child took a bite of a peanut butter cookie and immediately threw up and broke out in a rash.
A family in Wisconsin is mourning the loss of their teenage daughter after she died from an allergic reaction — but they have found some comfort in the lives her donated organs have saved. (Glass family)
“That’s when we knew that we had a serious allergy on our hands,” David Glass said.
All her life, she was careful to avoid peanut butter and carried an EpiPen with her.
When a college friend gave Hannah Glass the brownie, she never suspected it was made with peanut flour. After the first bite, she knew something was wrong. Her throat did not close up as it had in the past — but she immediately threw up and broke out in a rash.
CALIFORNIA WOMAN HAS 100 DIFFERENT ALLERGIES, IS RESTRICTED TO EATING JUST 13 FOODS
The teen called her parents to let them know what had happened. By the time they arrived at her dorm, she had taken allergy medicine and seemed to be feeling better, but then things took a turn.
“She suddenly said, ‘I can’t breathe. I’m hurting everywhere,’” said David Glass.
About an hour after the reaction began, the teenager lost consciousness and her parents called 911.
Hannah Glass, 19, was a freshman at Maranatha Baptist University, where she was studying English education. (Glass family)
“Everything that took place from that moment on was our burden, heartache and grief,” David Glass said.
Paramedics tried to revive the teen, not realizing until they reached the hospital that her right lung had collapsed, leading to a lack of oxygen to the brain.
“If we could help another family avoid feeling this level of pain, we knew we had to do it.”
“Unfortunately, it was too much time with not enough oxygen,” said David Glass. “At that point, the brain was significantly damaged.”
“Although we were hoping and praying and doctors were working and crying right alongside us, the events of that night were unchangeable.”
Lives saved through tragedy
Faced with the painful reality of Hannah’s death, the Glasses began to have discussions about donating their daughter’s organs.
“If we could help another family avoid feeling this level of pain, we knew we had to do it,” David Glass told Fox News Digital.
Hannah Glass, pictured as a baby and as a young girl, was the oldest of four siblings. “Hannah was very determined and dedicated to her future,” her mother told Fox News Digital. (Glass family)
“Keeping her body would in some ways be selfish, because that body could be used to save other people’s lives. That was a sacrifice we were very happy to make, even though it hurt like crazy.”
The day after Hannah’s death, the family was notified that the donated organs had saved four lives.
“During the organ donation process, we also agreed that Hannah’s tissues could be used to help others in a whole myriad of other ways that we are not even aware of,” David Glass added.
‘Humbling’ experience
Shortly after the teen’s death, the hospital held an “honor walk” on Nov. 17. Friends, family and members of the community were invited to line the halls as she was transported through the hospital with her parents and siblings.
Nearly 300 people showed up for the procession.
“She was just amazing and a tremendous blessing, and I am so proud to be able to call her my daughter.”
“It was extremely humbling,” Janeane Glass told Fox News Digital. “I had a difficult time looking at people, but the outpouring of love and support was incredible.”
Afterward, everyone gathered to sing the teen’s favorite hymns and Christmas songs.
“The testimony of people’s love and God’s love for us was heard throughout the whole hospital,” Janeane Glass said.
The hospital printed an image of Hannah Glass’ heartbeat for the family to keep, which is held in Hannah’s and her brother’s hands. (Glass family)
The Glasses shared their deep love and pride in their daughter.
“Hannah was very determined and dedicated to her future,” her mother told Fox News Digital.
“She was very independent and had a leadership personality. From a very young age, all she could think of was going to college.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
Hannah Glass had saved enough money to cover her entire college tuition. She was majoring in English education and planned to become a teacher.
Her biggest passion, however, was helping others, her parents said.
One of Hannah Glass’ brothers holds her hand in the ICU. After her death, nearly 300 people showed up for an “honor walk” at the hospital. (Glass family)
“One of the main things we’ve heard from the kids on campus was how much she cared about them,” Janeane Glass said.
“She just had a heart to serve others — and to serve her Lord. She was just amazing and a tremendous blessing, and I am so proud to be able to call her my daughter.”
Hannah Glass’ funeral was held on Nov. 20. “She had a heart to serve others — and to serve her Lord,” her mother told Fox News Digital. (Glass family)
David Glass shared that the family’s faith in God has “given us hope.”
“It’s the hope that there is more to living than just being alive, that we have a soul and the opportunity to live forever with God.”
‘Take it seriously’
To other families who may have a food allergy, the Glasses offer the message to “take it seriously.”
To others with a food allergy, the Glasses offered this message: “Take it seriously. Get it tested, and don’t wait for it to reoccur. Get the EpiPen and be prepared.” Daughter Hannah Glass as a child is shown here. (Glass family)
“Get it tested, and don’t wait for it to reoccur,” David Glass urged. “Get the EpiPen and be prepared.”
It’s also important to be cautious and aware of food ingredients, they added, especially when it’s something without a label.
“It’s a scary world, because what most people eat as a treat or a healthy snack could be like poison to the person sitting next to them,” David Glass said.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
“Although you can’t live perpetually in fear, the individual or the parents need to be hyper-aware that at some point, they will likely encounter this allergy — and it could be serious.”
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A distraught mother who thought she was having a heart attack was instead hospitalized with broken heart syndrome — otherwise known as takotsubo syndrome (TTS) — less than a year after her veteran son tragically took his own life.
Dawn Turner, 57, of the U.K., lost her son in August of last year.
Just last month, the mom of three awoke with “unbearable” chest pains, she said — and called an ambulance, worried she was going into cardiac arrest. But when she arrived at the hospital, doctors told her she was suffering from the effects of grief caused by a broken heart, as news agency SWNS reported.
SIMPLE DINNER TABLE HABIT LINKED TO POOR DIET AND HIGHER HEALTH RISKS IN ADULTS OVER 60
TTS is a temporary, reversible heart condition often triggered by extreme emotional or physical stress, such as grief, fear or severe illness, according to experts.
Symptoms usually mimic a heart attack, with sudden and severe chest pain and shortness of breath the most common — and it primarily affects women over the age of 50.
A mom whose soldier son took his own life feared she was suffering cardiac arrest — only to be told by hospital doctors that she was feeling the effects of grief caused by a broken heart. Dawn Turner, mother of deceased soldier Rob Homans, is pictured above, April 2026. (SWNS)
Turner, of Eckington in Worcester, said, “I was [sitting] downstairs earlier that night and thought I had a bit of indigestion. I went to bed and just couldn’t get comfortable — I was breaking out in a sweat and had heart palpitations.
“Then, around midnight, I had pain down my arm and in my jaw. I was still putting it down to indigestion… My partner Paul asked me if I was all right, and I said, ‘I think I’m having a heart attack.’”
HIDDEN CAUSE OF VETERANS’ STRUGGLES DRIVES RENEWED URGENCY IN VA MESSAGING
She said she couldn’t catch her breath — “and my heart felt as though it was missing a beat and then [started] thudding again. For those moments, I truly believed I was having a heart attack.”
“Your heart is all over the place — there’s an extra beat,” Turner was told.
She said her partner called emergency services, and an ambulance arrived within five minutes.
“They came in and linked me up to an ECG. They said, ‘Your heart is all over the place — there’s an extra beat, and it’s all over the place,’” she said, as SWNS reported.
Turner was rushed to the hospital by ambulance.
Turner is shown with her son in full dress uniform. He worked as an artilleryman and spent 10 years in the U.K.’s Royal Horse Artillery after joining in 2006. He was battling mental health challenges after his military service, and ultimately took his own life. (SWNS)
In emergency care, Turner was also given blood tests.
She added, “They came back and said I didn’t have the enzymes produced from a heart attack in my blood. But they said there [was] something going on.”
After undergoing more tests and seeing a cardiologist, Turner was told she had takotsubo syndrome.
WOMAN BEATS DEADLY BRAIN CANCER WITH EXPERIMENTAL STEM CELL THERAPY: ‘TRULY AMAZING’
“I told [the doctor] that my heart feels broken. I told her about [my son] Rob, and she said it’s exactly that. She said it’s a real thing, and that I’d been under so much stress. The body can only take so much, and the grief and the stress can be quite physical.”
Turner’s son committed suicide in August 2025 after struggling to get help with his mental health.
He spent 10 years in the Royal Horse Artillery after joining in 2006, when he worked as an artilleryman.
Turner’s son did two tours of duty in Afghanistan, she said. After he returned to civilian life, he began suffering from a number of health conditions. She’s shown above with a flower-draped memorial to her son. (SWNS)
He did two tours of duty in Afghanistan, she said, and returned to civilian life in 2016 before suffering several worsening health conditions.
Turner, who is also the CEO of a veterans charity called Stepway, “When he left the army, he got married, and they settled down in London. He walked straight into a job as a delivery driver. But then his health took a downward spiral, and he started having digestive troubles.”
YOUR HEART MAY BE OLDER THAN YOU THINK — AND THE NUMBER COULD PREDICT DISEASE RISK
He was eventually told he had PTSD — but those symptoms may be similar to those of mild traumatic brain injury, Turner said.
“He was deaf in one ear from using the guns,” she said. “He realized he was putting so much pressure on his marriage, so he moved back up with me. He started to build himself up — then COVID hit.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Turner said there were unfortunate delays as her son tried to get access to various services and facilities.
“When people lose loved ones, you’re obviously distraught, but you eventually find closure,” she said, per SWNS. “I found peace when I lost my sister in 2015. But with Rob, I can’t find closure because there’s no justice there.”
“I had never really understood that a person could become so overwhelmed by stress and grief that it physically affects the heart,” said the grieving mom. “Broken heart syndrome can look and feel like a heart attack.” (iStock)
Turner is now on the mend and hopes to be fully recovered in a couple of weeks, SWNS reported.
“Until that moment, I had never really understood that a person could become so overwhelmed by stress and grief that it physically affects the heart,” she shared. “Broken heart syndrome can look and feel like a heart attack. It was a warning sign for me, and for anyone. It can change the shape of one of your heart chambers … it can cause some serious damage.”
She added, “The cardiologist told me that thankfully, my heart itself is healthy and there was no damage, but that it will take around two weeks to a month for my heart to reboot itself.”
“Maybe the extra [heart]beat is for Rob. You are carrying on living for him,” her partner told her.
Turner was told she needed to rest, seek counseling and make lifestyle changes to reduce stress.
“Things have settled down, and I’m taking things easy — I’m pacing myself now, and I feel a lot better. Paul said, ‘Maybe the extra beat is for Rob. You are carrying on living for him.’”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
Turner said, “That broke me and healed me a little bit all at once.”
Fox News Digital previously reported that broken heart syndrome, which causes the heart to temporarily weaken, has been linked to the brain’s reaction to stress, as studies have found.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
In an article published in the European Heart Journal in March 2019, Swiss researchers said they found that the syndrome is linked to the way the brain communicates with the heart.
Broken heart syndrome, which causes the heart to temporarily weaken, has been linked to the brain’s reaction to stress, studies have found. (iStock)
Caused by intense emotional events, TTS is a rare, temporary condition that weakens the left ventricle and disrupts its normal pumping function.
The syndrome causes the heart’s main pumping chamber to change shape and get larger. The heart muscle becomes weaker, and its pumping action loses strength.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
Symptoms include sudden, intense chest pain, pressure or heaviness in the chest, along with shortness of breath.
It is treated with beta blockers and blood-thinning medicine to reduce risks of clots and other flareups.
Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items.
Use escape to exit the menu.
Sign Up
Create a free account to access exclusive content, play games, solve puzzles, test your pop-culture knowledge and receive special offers.
Already have an account? Login
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels.
A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay.
Scientists at the University of South Alabama observed that mice on a high-salt diet experienced rapid deterioration in their blood vessel function.
HIGH SALT INTAKE LINKED TO FASTER MEMORY DECLINE IN ONE GROUP, STUDY FINDS
After just four weeks of high sodium intake, the small arteries responsible for regulating blood flow lost their ability to relax, according to a press release.
The team found that the cells lining these vessels had entered a state of cellular senescence, a form of premature cellular aging in which cells stop dividing and release a mix of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding tissue.
Excess salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but a new study goes deeper into its effects on the cardiovascular system. (iStock)
The researchers tried to replicate this damage by exposing blood vessel cells directly to salt in a laboratory dish, but the cells showed no harmful effects.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
This suggests that salt isn’t directly causing damage to the vascular lining but that the real culprit may be the body’s own defense mechanism, the researchers noted.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16 (IL-16), which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16, which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study. (iStock)
Once these cells age, they fail to produce nitric oxide, the essential gas that tells arteries to dilate and stay flexible.
To test whether this process could be reversed, the team turned to a class of experimental drugs known as senolytics.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Using a cancer medication called navitoclax, which selectively clears out aged and dysfunctional cells, the researchers were able to restore nearly normal blood vessel function in the salt-fed mice, the release stated.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ.
By removing the decaying cells created by the high-salt diet, the drug allowed the remaining healthy tissue to maintain its elasticity and respond correctly to blood flow demands.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system into stopping the cells from dividing, the study suggests. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations. The transition from mouse models to human treatment remains a significant hurdle, the team cautioned.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
Senolytic drugs like navitoclax are still being studied for safety, and the team emphasized that previous trials have shown mixed results regarding their impact on artery plaque.
Additionally, the researchers have not yet confirmed whether the same IL-16 pathway is the primary driver of vascular aging in humans.
-
Education42 seconds agoÉcole des Sables, Africa’s Premier Dance School, Faces a Precarious Future
-
Technology7 minutes agoIt’s amazing how good Alienware’s $350 OLED monitor is
-
World13 minutes agoIran reportedly fires on three ships in Strait of Hormuz
-
Politics19 minutes agoWATCH: Sen Warren unloads on Trump’s Fed nominee Kevin Warsh in explosive hearing showdown
-
Health25 minutes agoGrieving mom hospitalized with rare ‘broken heart syndrome’ after veteran son’s suicide
-
Sports31 minutes agoAustin Reaves nearing return for Lakers as Luka Doncic remains out indefinitely with hamstring strain: report
-
Technology37 minutes agoMichael and Susan Dell surpass $1 billion in donations backing AI-driven hospital project
-
Business43 minutes agoContributor: ICE raids and migrant pay cuts are devastating California economies