11-Year-Old Boy Dies in Maine on Thanksgiving After Eating Cake

11-year-old Oakley Debbs was in Maine visiting family for Thanksgiving. After having a piece of cake...he passed away four days later. His family now has a warning. 

Oakley had some cake and told him mom about it...he wasn't suppose to have any - it had nuts in it. His mom gave him Benadryl. It's always worked in the past and it seemed to work this time. He said he felt great and went back to playing with his cousins and his twin sister.

Later that night, Oakley got sick...very sick and within minutes, he couldn't breathe. His mom Merrill said that he was blue and while holding him, he was 'basically gone'.

His family is regretful they didn't know more about his nut allergy. It had never been a major concern and they were much more worried about Oakley's asthma.

Now they have turned Oakley's death into a misssion. On the same day that he passed, they came up with the idea for the Red Sneakers Foundation, named after the only shoes Oakley liked to wear.

They are hoping to raise money for food allergy awareness, to force labeling on packages to be bigger and much more clear.

Okley's dad says:

If someone wrote, 'Contains nuts, may kill you," like cigarettes or something, people would understand it.

 

The idea has spread quickly and the Debbs family is getting messages from around the world from people who are wearing red for Oakley.

Oakley's mom, Merrill said:

I always thought to myself in my heart of hearts that Oakley was here for a reason and that he was going to be special. I just didn't know he was going to be special after he passed away.

Please protect yourself and your kids. Learn more about nut allergies. The goal of the Red Sneaker Foundation is to have no other child die from a nut allergy.