A single mother has died after suffering a catastrophic anaphylactic attack from peanuts, leaving her three children orphaned.
Hanna Scigala, 31, was at her Newcastle home with her sons, aged 12 and nine, and daughter, three, on January 4 when her peanut allergy was unexpectedly triggered around 9.30pm by a post-dinner treat.
Helplessly watching the crisis unfold, her eldest son quickly texted his grandparents, who called emergency services before rushing over from their nearby home.
Hanna was raced to hospital in a critical condition and placed into intensive care after suffering a cardiac arrest in the ambulance.
Hanna Scigala, 31, (pictured) tragically died last week after suffering a catastrophic anaphylactic attack from peanuts
After scans on Friday revealed she had no brain activity, her family made the gut-wrenching decision to say their final goodbyes and turn off her life support.
'It was absolutely heartbreaking,' her younger sister Stephanie, 21, told Daily Mail Australia.
'I couldn't believe it. I couldn't comprehend that I was looking at her and she was still breathing, but it was just the machine.
'I just wanted to tell her to wake up.'
Wanting Hanna's selflessness to be her legacy, her mother decided to donate her organs to save the lives of others.
Stephanie said her sister would be glad to know through her passing she could continue to make the world a better place.
'She loved helping people.'
'That was just the type of person Hanna was.'
Hanna, who operated her own small cleaning business, is described by loved ones as one of the 'most free-spirited people you would ever meet'.
Hanna's three children, aged 12, nine, and three, will be taken in by relatives after their mother's death
She was 'incredibly funny', making it hard for loved ones to take her seriously, a dedicated worker
