Father-to-be dies after allergic reaction to fish on night out

What was meant to be an enjoyable night out proved to be fatal for this soon-to-be father. Photo / Instagram

The pregnant widow of a man who suffered a fatal allergic reaction on a night out has been flooded with support ahead of the birth of their daughter.

More than $20,000 has been raised to support the family of Alexander Hall, 37, who died earlier this month after a night out in Ballarat, Victoria, with his wife Cassandra, 33, on February 7. The couple are from the nearby town of Ballan.

"Alex was out for dinner (and) suffered a severe allergic reaction," friend and organiser Theany Walker wrote.

"He received immediate medical attention but as of 1.23pm on February 12 he was pronounced dead. As you can imagine the family is devastated, Alex and Cass were married last May and Cass is pregnant with their first child."

Ms Walker said a "small silver lining" was that Alex was an organ donor.

"Many of his organs were able to be used including his heart which was transported to the Children's Hospital and saved the life of a child," she said. "Alex will live on in his (soon to be) daughter Isabelle and in the many lives that he was able to save through his final wish."

Alex, whose only known allergy was to Brazil nuts, had no idea he was allergic to barramundi – he had eaten the fish several years earlier with only a slight tingling on the lips.

The business development manager stopped breathing shortly after the couple shared a seafood basket. Despite the best efforts of a group of off-duty nurses, Alex had to be placed in an induced coma and later died in hospital.

Mrs Hall told the Herald Sun he "just had the biggest heart – so full of love and so kind and compassionate". "I will love him every moment of every day for the rest of my life," she said.

She said Alex was excited to be a father. They recently bought a block of land in Ballan, 80km northwest of Melbourne, to build their family home.

Their daughter, Isabelle, is due to be born in May. "I guess I'm just hoping that when she's born I look into her eyes and the love that fills me is enough to sustain me,'' she said. "She will know him."

Friends, family and colleagues from Alex's work, corporate education firm DeakinCo, left messages of support on the GoFundMe page.

"When I first started mid-last year, we worked together on my first couple of projects and he was so kind, so supportive and went above and beyond to make me feel a part of the team," one co-worker said.

"That seemed to be Alex's M.O. I'll miss seeing him in the office and knowing he's out there being a kind force in the world. I'm sure he and his wife's little one will carry on that kindness."