One little boy died after consuming cake. His sudden death has since served as a reminder to parents everywhere that food allergies are no laughing matter. While some allergies are obvious and cause a reaction immediately, others take time to develop and get worse with every exposure. Mom Merrill Debbs is now coming forward to share her tragic story about her son Oakley who died after eating cake because she wants to save other parents from the horror of watching a food allergy kill their child.

Because Debbs did not know much about food allergies, she never took them that seriously. She’d laugh when people would make fun of someone with a “peanut” allergy on television or scoff when she heard someone ordering the “gluten-free” option at the restaurant.

However, her son was at risk. He suffered from asthma and also tested positive for a mild peanut and tree nut allergy.