Natasha was 15 years old when she died from anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction. She had food allergies and as her parents, it had been our job to protect her from allergen food risks and dangers. We did this with no outside support, advice or assistance. We did our best, we managed as best we could, I can say that with absolute truth, but we failed.

‘Natasha’s story matters’ because we don’t want any more families to suffer as we have done. It matters because people should not live in fear of their food allergies as we did.

‘Natasha's story matters’ so we can move forward, to help, protect and empower all those who struggle with this condition through education and awareness and by demanding change where change is necessary. Natasha didn't deserve to die - no one should die from the food they eat. We don’t want families to suffer as we have done or to live in fear of food allergies as we did. We want you to live a full life, a good life; it’s what we all want for ourselves and our children. It’s what we had hoped for Natasha.

Natasha died in the summer of 2016 from a baguette sandwich purchased at Heathrow airport before boarding a plane. The food label on the packaging didn’t include sesame seeds which she was allergic to - they had been baked into the bread and weren't at all visible. Once on the plane, she had no way of receiving the medical care she so urgently needed.

Her father injected her with 2 EpiPens but they made no difference, such was the severity of her allergic reaction. Natasha went into multiple cardiac arrests. The pilot decided not to make an emergency landing but to continue for another hour to its destination. When the plane landed, French Paramedics were waiting, and they continued with CPR, but it was too late.

She died in a French hospital later that day.

Following Natasha's inquest in 2018, we began to receive emails and letters from worried families in the UK and from many countries around the world. They told us that what had happened to us was their worst fear. They told us that living daily with anxiety and always on high alert, was taking a heavy toll on their lives.

New revelations from the inquest surfaced every day; from Natasha's death certificate initially stating her cause of death was asthma, to the defibrillator on the plane never being offered, even though she had gone into multiple cardiac arrests. I will never forget the air steward telling the Coroner that he didn't offer the defibrillator because he was manning the emergency doors “…in case of an emergency.”

We have since then attended a number of food allergy death inquests, and the running thread is that they all could have been avoided - with better societal knowledge, policies, awareness and understanding.

‘Natasha’s story matters’ because the number of people with food allergies and those experiencing anaphylaxis is increasing. We as a family had not been aware of this fact and had lived in a ‘bubble’, of coping and managing Natasha’s allergies ourselves, always trying to anticipate invisible dangers and constantly living in 'fight or flight' mode.

It isn’t acceptable to expect allergic individuals and families to live this way.

Through the work of Natasha's Foundation, and the sharing of information on our social media platforms, we have shared our personal allergy stories and experiences from Natasha’s childhood, hoping to raise awareness of food allergies and start important conversations. The tragedy is that not nearly enough has changed in the last 20 years to safeguard and protect food-allergic people, and issues that we faced with Natasha 15 years ago, are still happening today.

The implementation of ‘Natasha’s Law’ has closed a legal loophole that was being misused by big food businesses in the UK, and the transparency of full ingredient information it now gives on PPDS foods (those that are prepacked for direct sale), cannot be underestimated - Natasha’s Law is saving lives.

Natasha’s Law has most certainly scratched the surface of food allergy issues that desperately needed addressing, but more still needs to be done to positively impact food allergic lives.

This is why Natasha’s Foundation campaigns, advocates for and addresses the important issues that directly impact the safety and quality of food allergic people’s lives.

‘Natasha’s story matters’ because 'The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation' was founded in direct response to our daughter’s young life and her tragic death.