'Our son could have died', say horrified parents
A schoolboy with a nut allergy suffered two heart attacks after a teacher handed him a chocolate with a whole hazelnut inside it.
Rehan Butt, seven, had a massive allergic reaction and had to be rushed to hospital where he was hooked up to a ventilator to help him breathe.
His family said staff at the Bradford school had been aware of the boy's allergy since he started there three years ago.
It appears the youngster was handed the treat by a substitute teacher but his mother said there was a board in class with pictures of which children were allergic to what.
Consequences: Allergic Rehan Butt was rushed to hospital after he was handed a chocolate containing a hazelnut
Rehan was handed the Quality Street chocolate with a hazelnut in it at the end of the school day on Tuesday and began eating it.
His mother then saw him spit it out at the school gate and a few minutes later noticed his complexion change and face swell.
She immediately gave him a shot from an EpiPen - a boost of adrenaline - which he carried on him. But it failed to make an immediate impact, and an ambulance was called to the school.
Rehan spat out the chocolate when he realised it had a nut inside but his face had already started to swell
It is thought a substitute teacher at St Matthew's C of E Primary School in Bradford was handing out chocolates because it was a child's birthday and handed Rehan the 'Big Purple One' from a selection box.
His mother, Razwana Butt, 28, said: 'The chocolate was given to him but he didn't tell me until he had eaten it. When I saw him he had the purple wrapper and then his eyes started to swell up about 10 minutes later.
'He was saying he was finding it difficult to breathe and he was panicking. We called an ambulance and luckily it arrived really quickly.
'They gave him adrenaline and oxygen and then we got to Bradford Royal Infirmary.
'When we got to the hospital he went into cardiac arrest and his heart stopped twice. Luckily, he came round after CPR.
'We really want to raise awareness of how dangerous giving a child the wrong thing can be, because it could have been much worse, Rehan could have died.'
The boy's aunt Farzana Hussain, 26, said: 'We have been really let down by the school and it's not a small thing that has happened here.
'Rehan has a serious allergy, he suffered two cardiac arrests and one respiratory arrest because he ate that sweet. He couldn't breathe on his own and he had to be hooked up to a ventilator.
Rehan was given the 'big purple one' from a Quality Street box
'He has been going to that school for three years and everyone there knows about his allergies and how serious they are. I just can't believe that someone would give him a chocolate with a nut in.
'He asked the teacher if he was a allowed a chocolate and when they said yes he trusted them. By the time he had bitten into it and realised what had happened it was too late.'
Rehan was transferred from Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) to the Intensive Care Unit at Leeds General Infirmary before being taken back to BRI at about 5pm on Wednesday afternoon, where he is still staying.
Mrs Butt, a civil servant, said: 'I don't know how this could have happened, in the school's classroom they have an allergy board which has each child's picture on it and what they are allergic to.
'My sister always reminds people that he is allergic to nuts at birthday parties and all the children in his class know he is allergic to them.
'I went to see the head teacher to tell them how badly it had affected Rehan. He apologised to me.
'Luckily Rehan is off the ventilator now but he is very disorientated. We have been talking to him about his friends from school and he doesn't remember them.
'After one of his family came to see him, we were talking to him about it later and he couldn't remember the visit.'
She added: 'We were told that Rehan could have suffered brain damage if the ambulance hadn't got there so quickly and given him oxygen. He is much better now and is able to sit up in bed.'
Head teacher Bob Curran said in a statement: 'We can assure Rehan's family that there will be a full investigation into the incident.
'We wish Rehan and his family all the best for his recovery.'