A mourning Dublin mother has been left “disgusted” by comments made by online trolls after settling legal action over her teen child's tragic death.
Drimnagh mum Caroline Sloan took to Facebook to highlight the "disgusting, ignorant people who feel they have an entitlement to judge me".
Her daughter, Emma, 14, died from anaphylactic shock after mistakenly eating a sauce containing nuts at a Chinese restaurant in Dublin city centre on December 18, 2013.
She and her mother Caroline had gone to Hamilton Long Allcare Pharmacy on O’Connell Street seeking an EpiPen, but was allegedly declined because she did not have a prescription.
Caroline sued pharmacist David Murphy and Ballychem Ltd trading as Hamilton Long Allcare Pharmacy following her daughter’s death.
Emma’s family settled a legal action for €50,000 last week, but since then Caroline has been receiving comments online.
One said: “Let's blame everyone else, no blame on the mother for not having a spare EpiPen.... The mother got her money so that’s all that mattered.”
Caroline took to social media in a heartbreaking post to discuss the journey she has been on since Emma’s life ended.
She said: “My child is dead because we were not informed by our Lady's Hospital that Emma's allergy was potentially fatal, why? Because in their own words “We don’t like to panic people.”
“Pharmacist David Murphy could have legally given the EpiPen at his own discretion but chose not to save my child, who by the way, had a 97.7% chance of survival at this time.
“Why did he choose not to help a dying child nobody will ever truly know."
The grieving mam continued: “The reason we as a family fought so hard for seven years is that we wanted recognition that what happened to Emma was wrong, we wanted to educate people on the dangers of allergies.
“We wanted an allergy specialist in Dublin to educate parents on the dangers and we wanted to change the law so nobody else had to die.
“We achieved it all. There have already been six people saved in pharmacies alone since Emma’s death.”
Caroline concluded: “We will continue our journey through this life without Emma, knowing that she has helped to save so many is a great comfort to us.
"The fact she missed out on so much in life is heartbreaking for us but I know she is with us every step of the way.
"I will carry you with me Emma until the end of my life and I pray we'll meet again, I love you my beautiful precious child."
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