Mother of Deceased Boy: Allergies Must be Taken Seriously

One month after a peanut allergy led to her son’s death, Georgina Cornago of Lawrence is telling her story, hoping that it will save the lives of other children with the same disorder.

“It’s a tragedy that he was taken from us due to something that is so serious, and many people don’t think it’s as serious as it is,” said Cornago, whose son Giovanni Cipriano died last month. “It’s something that needs to be brought to everyone’s attention.”

Although Giovanni had a peanut allergy, he’s consumed peanuts before and never had a severe reaction. After eating something that contained peanuts the last time, however, his heart stopped for 12 minutes. That led to oxygen loss in his brain, and though doctors did resuscitate him, it wasn’t enough. After weeks in a coma, Giovanni died on Oct. 19.

“It’s unpredictable whether it will be a mild reaction or a fatal one,” said Dr. Punita Ponda, assistant division chief of Allergy and Immunology at North Shore-LIJ. “If a parent suspects a food allergy for their child, they should go to an allergist and get advice.”

Food allergies have been on the rise for the last 10 years, with six to eight percent of children suffering from some sort of allergies. Doctors aren’t sure if the increase is due to better reporting or if there is an actual increase in allergic reactions, Ponda said.

Ponda added that peanut allergies are the most prevalent and commonly reported with fatal anaphylaxis.

According to Ponda, parents and other caretakers should follow the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan, which says that an epipen should be administered as soon as severe symptoms show. Benadryl should only be given with mild symptoms, but the plan says, “when in doubt, give epinephrine.”

Giovanni’s funeral mass was packed with family and friends, classmates and teachers from both Lawrence schools and Holy Trinity High School, which he had only started attending this year. Cornago said the outpouring from Holy Trinity was “unbelievable and amazing.” The family has also received messages of support from across the world, including from many “peanuts moms.”

“Without the support we’ve had, I don’t think we’d be talking and standing today,” she said. “I can’t even say how horrible it is.”

Giovanni played baseball, football and soccer, was an honor student and played the trumpet, Cornago said. He was very happy and always had a smile on his face.

“If you ask his friends and teachers, there wasn’t a day he didn’t make them laugh or smile or make them feel better when they were down,” she said. “He was just an amazing kid.”