“Yes, he got to have snow,” Merrill said of her 11-year-old twin son, Oakley. For one South Florida family, the pain of losing an 11-year-old son with a food allergy is fueling their drive to keep others safe. But this time the difference is his eyes start to swell up and he says, ‘my throat, my throat, my throat.’ His throat starts to close up. When you ask me to tell you the story, and let me tell you about my son, my son only lived to be 11. FARE has a long list of resources that may help you navigate a food allergy diagnosis.