Teen studying to be a doctor dies after sip of piña colada
An 18-year-old tragically died after taking a sip of a friend’s cocktail while vacationing in Spain, a coroner said.
Shiv Mistry, who was studying to become a doctor, reportedly “fell to the floor” after sampling a piña colada his friend was drinking when out with friends in the Costa del Sol in July this year.
The United Kingdom teen — who was set to attend Clare College at Cambridge University to study medicine — was unaware the barman had swapped out the coconut cream in the drink with cow’s milk cream instead, which he was deathly allergic to.
He went into anaphylactic shock, with his friends, medics and police unable to revive him.
According to his uncle, Kalpesh Mistry, Shiv had lived with a dairy allergy since he was a young child.
Assistant coroner Ian Wade QC read a statement from his grieving parents, who were not angry with his pals. “We, Shiv’s parents, do not lay any blame on Shiv’s friends who were very courageous and did everything possible to save his life and should be commended during the hearing, if appropriate.”
According to the statement, which was reported by several outlets, he “immediately” realized he’d consumed something with dairy.
“He was sweaty, hyperventilating and took cetirizine, a powerful antihistamine,” the statement read. “He went to the bathroom to vomit. He was weak and dazed and requested a friend to call the emergency services.”
It continued: “He then requested an EpiPen and an inhaler. His other friends arrived and one left to guide emergency services to the room.”
Mr. Wade said his friends gave him CPR for 20 minutes and “someone called his parents on WhatsApp to tell them what had happened,” with Mistry’s breathing becoming more and more labored.
His friends used a second EpiPen, and when emergency services arrived, they used a defibrillator. He was pronounced brain stem dead on July 8.
The coroner declared an accident as the cause of death to conclude the inquest.
The headmaster Philip Wayne of the Royal Grammar School where Shiv attended tweeted before his memorial on Aug. 9, writing, “Shiv was a wonderful lad — kind, caring, humorous and very able. He had a place at Cambridge to study medicine. What a fine doctor he would have made.”
Shiv’s father, Judgish Mistry, said after the hearing there should be more education given to young people about anaphylaxis, as they are inexperienced and going out on their own.
“Shiv was lucky, he had friends who were medically aware and could apply CPR — however, there will be young people going on holiday with friends with no medical knowledge at all,” his father said. “Schools should give medical training to anyone who has a friend that suffers from a life-threatening allergy.”
Shiv’s family is raising money for Anaphylaxis UK to promote awareness, with more than $12,775 donated so far on the GoFundMe page set up by his uncle.
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