Life is far from simple for 10-year-old Yann Jennings, who has over 20 deadly allergies. But there's finally hope on the horizon - and she's calling on the Government for help09:03, 25 May 2026Updated 09:04, 25 May 2026'My 10-year-old son has 26 allergies that could kill him’A slice of birthday cake at a pal’s party or a simple sleepover could kill 10-year-old Yann Jennings, who has 22 potentially deadly allergies. Until recently, his parents had to wash their hands before they could even cuddle him. His mum, Katie Hutt, 46, says: “He’s allergic to dairy, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, seafood, eggs, kiwi, sesame, nutmeg, quinoa, soya, pulses, rye, oats, barley, tuna and red fish, pollen, flaxseed, pumpkin seed, buckwheat and cats, dogs and horses [classed as one category].”‌The Cardiff businesswoman - who quit her job as a lawyer to care for him - has been given considerable hope since enrolling Yann in a groundbreaking allergy elimination programme in America. But she says: “His allergies were airborne [tiny particles in the air]; trace [the smallest, invisible speck ingested]; and contact [simply coming into contact with them on his skin]. All could have triggered anaphylactic shock. We couldn’t go to a cafe, because his milk allergy was airborne and the milk frother making everyone’s flat whites could prove fatal. Flights abroad were out of the question. Every day we were dicing with death.”‌READ MORE: 'Our boy died in hail of bullets - he could have chosen to run but he died a hero'Katie, who also has a daughter Mai, eight, with her husband Neil Jennings, 49, who works in construction, says they realised something was wrong when Yann was a baby. She says: “He reacted badly to his baby vaccinations, then started getting severe eczema head to toe.”‌At six months, blood tests showed him to be allergic to milk, peanuts and egg. Katie says: “I’m allergic to milk. It makes me sick, but I won’t die. But Yann’s allergies were so severe that these foods must be nowhere near him.” Katie started researching allergy groups on Facebook. She says: “I was given a leaflet by the doctor, that was it. There is no uniform education for parents, they are on their own. It was on Facebook that I learned to always carry two EpiPens [to administer emergency doses of adrenaline to combat life-threatening allergic reactions, or anaphylaxis], in case the first one doesn’t work.”Recalling Yann’s first experience of anaphylaxis, aged one, she continues: “I put coconut cream in a puree of veg I was making. That was the first time we had to use an EpiPen. If I hadn't had it he would have died. His whole face was swollen, he was projectile vomiting and clutching his throat. We called 999.‌“In the ambulance he went back into shock and paramedics had to administer another EpiPen. They were panicking. There isn't sufficient education about how dangerous allergies are. It's so extreme, a trace that you can't even see can kill someone.”Yann, who takes his own food and drink wherever he goes, saw his allergies increasing. Katie explains: “Bread, cake, eggs, seafood… he would start to clutch at his throat and look for the door when they were in the same room. If Yann went to a birthday party and there was food on a buffet table, he'd start to panic. He felt safe outside. We spent so much of our time outdoors.”‌Everything from nursery to soft play was off limits for Yann, while at home, there was always an open window. Eventually finding a childminder who would take him to the park and to playgroup, Katie made Yann a bib saying ‘don’t feed me,’ and the other kids had to eat biscuits well away from him.In March this year, the Government announced that life-saving allergy pens must be stocked by schools in England for the first time, while there will be compulsory training for teachers and a requirement for each school to have a dedicated allergy policy.‌The changes came after listening to the National Allergy Strategy Group and to campaigners like Helen Blythe, mother of Benedict Blythe, the five-year-old Lincolnshire boy who died in 2021 from a fatal anaphylactic reaction to cow’s milk, after collapsing at school.Katie says: “As an allergy parent it’s not an exaggeration to say that every day you worry your child will die. The EpiPen promise is a start. But it [the legislation] doesn’t even cover Wales, where we live. We have to make sure Yann has his own EpiPens.”With rates of anaphylaxis rising in children in the UK, Katie is calling for mandatory education around allergies and how to deal with them in educational settings and the catering industry. She says: “Guidance about EpiPens needs to be mandatory in every single school. Availability of EpiPens needs to be mandatory. As an allergy parent, you live with constant anxiety, and we aren’t entitled to any benefits from the Government, even though children with extreme allergies need more care.”‌Katie says doctors have even said she knows more than they do about allergies. Recalling a peanut allergy trial Yann joined when he was four in London, she says: “Every six months we had to have a food challenge in hospital, where Yann was given peanut protein or placebo protein, all controlled under medical supervision. It was blind tested, so we never knew which dose he would get. The team was amazing, but the experience was harrowing. It repeatedly showed us how dangerous and rapid anaphylaxis is. You have no idea what a timebomb you are dealing with. We’ve seen Yann unable to breathe - doctors running around, machines going off - he’s needed a nebuliser afterwards to control his breathing.”Salvation came for Yann via Facebook where, in 2022, his parents heard about a not-for-profit clinic in California, running a pioneering allergy elimination programme. Yann visited in August 2024 and was given his first bespoke treatment plan. Katie says: “Under their care, Yann microdoses a complex variety of different food proteins. We dose him morning and night at home all year round and go to the clinic in America every 12 weeks for new foods and dose adjustments.”‌Able to fly with British Airways, who have invested millions of pounds in allergy training, it’s a massive undertaking but, after four years of treatment, the family’s been told Yann will be allergy free. But he’s needed a lot of time off school and flights - costing £2,000 return for the family - and accommodation are expensive. Their GoFundMe has helped, but they have also had to remortgage their home.Katie, whose parents are retired teachers, says: “They’re able to visit and homeschool the children while they isolate before each trip.” With most allergy deaths occurring in teenagers and young adults, aged from 15 to 25, as they become more independent, Katie wants Yann to be cured before he starts high school.‌She says: “With this treatment, the aim is his body will be better able to metabolise all the things that before would have killed him. Within 18 months he'll be finished and he'll be able to live normally. He’ll be able to go off to high school and be in the same room as a peanut and come home again.“For Yann’s whole life, we’ve been in survival mode. Every day we wondered if he would come home. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but it takes a city to raise one with as many allergies as Yann. For the first time, the fear is subsiding and we’re looking to the future with hope.”A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are working with a range of partners and experts, including members of the National Allergy Strategy Group, to consider how allergy care and support could be improved.”Article continues below*You can donate to Yann’s treatment at www.gofundme.com/f/fund-yanns-life-saving-treatment-in-usaREAD MORE: Eurovision's Angela Scanlon ‘scared walking in the dark’ as she makes grim confession