Who was the girl who died on the plane?
When you lose a child, gatherings with strangers can be tricky, and I found this particularly hard in the early years after Natasha’s death.
The conversational and interesting questions would always arise, “So, do you have children?” and my reply would be, “Yes, I have two.” The questions would naturally continue, and as I explained, I can only imagine they may have wished that they had not asked. I would feel bad for them, "I have a daughter who died, her name is Natasha, and she was 15 years old."
It still amazes me how so many people know her story. They may not always remember her name, but they always remember the incident very clearly - as I confirm, “Yes, that was my daughter, Natasha.” Reactions are always of shock and horror; sometimes people’s eyes immediately fill with tears, or I am hugged, or sometimes they don’t know what to say, they look so sad. I want to tell them that it's okay and thank them for asking.
Natasha died from anaphylaxis. She became ‘the girl who died on the plane from an allergic reaction’, and her story and our tragedy hit every corner of the internet, made news headlines, and got people talking about food allergies - people were asking questions about food allergy safety, what went wrong, how can we make sure this never happens again?
Natasha’s Law, her legacy reaches far beyond that awful day and is now changing the landscape for many people living allergic lives. I now try hard not to feel shaken when asked how many children I have.
“I have two children. Natasha and Alex. Natasha died on a plane from an allergic reaction. She is my incredible, gorgeous, and oh-so-loved daughter - she is and will always be my special girl, my Natasha."
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, Co-founder of Natasha's Foundation