CSULA student hospitalized after allergic reaction gets voice back

WATTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- For Yaasmeen Castanada reading to her 11-month-old daughter Chloe is a dream come true.

"I get to read to her, sing, talk to her again. I'm just so happy that I have my voice back," Castanada said.

The 19-year-old Cal State Los Angeles student is recovering at home in Watts after having her trachea rebuilt. She hadn't been able to speak since Thanksgiving after taking a friend's leftover antibiotic pill and suffering a life-threatening allergic reaction called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, which caused her body to break out in massive blisters.

"It just felt like someone just lit me up on fire, that's how bad it was," she said.

Castanada ended up in the burn ward at UC Irvine Medical Center. Her body was covered in incredibly painful blisters from head to toe. Her recovery was fraught with numerous infections and complications.

"At points I did want to give up cause I was so tired, but I kept fighting because I had to fight for my daughter," Castanada said.

That love and determination is what keeps her going. The young mother, who still needs a cornea transplant and requires numerous medications as her fragile skin heals, is now using her voice to warn others of the potential danger.

"Be careful of what you take cause you don't know what you're allergic to," Castanada said.

She's looking forward to returning to her treasured studies and is refusing to ever give up.

"I have big dreams and I'm not going to let this stop me for achieving them," Castanada said.

The family has set up a GoFundMe account. You can donate here: www.gofundme.com/YaasmeenCastanada