“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of a brilliant soul,
Órla Baxendale
, a dancer, partner and friend who left us too soon at the age of 25 on January 11, 2024.”
Thus begins the heartbreaking farewell message that the MOMIX dance academy dedicated to its young promise.
That fateful January 11, tragedy occurred when the British woman took advantage of a break during a rehearsal to buy vanilla Florentine cookies at the Stew Leonard's supermarket branch in New Milford, Connecticut.
She had been living in the United States (in New York) for 6 years pursuing her dream of being an international dancer.
At that particular moment she was preparing to take the big leap in the play “Alice in Wonderland.”
Órla didn't know that her simple decision to eat the Florentine would cost her her life.
After ingesting them, the girl
suffered a
fatal
anaphylactic shock
.
Her attack was so strong that not even her epinephrine injector saved her.
an absurd death
Órla was allergic to peanuts
, so she was very careful with everything she ate.
She carried the epinephrine injector with her everywhere and usually surrounded herself with people who knew how to use it in case of emergency.
The photo of Órla that MOMIX used to say goodbye to her.
Photo: Facebook
I always checked to see if the grocery products I bought had peanuts in them.
Florentine ate the cookies with peace of mind because he analyzed their label and saw that their recipe was free of that food.
For this reason, her lawyer and her family concluded that
the tragedy was avoidable and due to the poor labeling of the food
.
Marijo Adimey
, the Baxendales' lawyer, said that Órla died because the cookie she ate had peanuts in it and the label did not mention it.
“The preliminary investigation revealed that Órla's death occurred due to gross negligence and reckless conduct of the manufacturer and sellers who did not correctly identify the contents of the cookie on the packaging.
This lack of adequate disclosure led to this devastating, but avoidable result,” the lawyer stated.
In response, the supermarket chain that sold the cookies wanted to get rid of the problem by blaming Cookies United, the manufacturer of vanilla Florentine.
Órla was very loved by her friends and dance partners.
Photo: Facebook
Stew Leonard's maintained that Cookies United changed the recipe from soybeans to peanuts and the company's safety director was never contacted.
Cookies United responded by putting the blame back on Stew's Leonard.
A company representative said that in July of last year he had informed the chain about the change because the products are labeled there.
After Órla's death, the Florentines were removed from the shelves of all the stores in the area.
Impeccable student: how her loved ones remember her
Baxendale felt dance since she was little.
She had incredible talent.
Originally from Manchester, England, she began her studies Irish dancing at the Phoenix Academy of Irish Dancing and then went through several academies until she ended up in New York.
Video
The 25-year-old dancer died on January 11 due to anaphylactic shock resulting from ingesting a supposedly mislabeled product.
He studied at the Northern Ballet Academy, in Leeds, and later at the Elmhurst Ballet School, in Birmingham, both in England.
It was in 2018 when she moved to the United States to join The Ailey School as a scholarship student.
There she worked with several renowned choreographers and even performed at Fashion Week.
She was also part of a dance and theater production that appeared at Lincoln Center in New York.
In MOMIX's farewell post, the company describes her as “
an embodiment of enthusiasm, strength and beauty
. ”
Known for her quirky character and boundless love for those around her, she was
a source of joy and inspiration to all
.”
Her sister,
Niamh
, made a Facebook post on behalf of her entire family saying that she and her family are “
devastated
” by the loss.
The Baxendales will now try to raise awareness about allergies.
“It is incomprehensible that allergies can still take lives in 2024. Please read about anaphylaxis as you can help save someone's life one day.
Anaphylaxis UK,” wrote Niamh.
Órla and her sisters.
Photo: Facebook
Órla's sister urged her to donate to Allergy UK, an organization that is raising the profile of allergies and trying to achieve better labeling on products.