My 15 yr old niece almost died last night!! :(

[antkim]

I am not joking.

I have posted here in the past about the fact that my nieces have severe nut allergies...very scary.

Well, without getting in to all the specific details, my niece ate a cookie last night that had walnuts in it....by accident. Well, 5 minutes later she was screaming that she could not breathe....her throat was closing. They shot her with her epi pen and it helped bring the throat swelling down...her mouth was completely swollen, so they had to give her the benadryl as well. The fire trucks were the first to respond (of course, 911 was called) and by the time they arrived, her thoat was swelling shut again. The fire fighter told my brother to stick her with another epi pen...which he did, and it worked. By the time the ambulence arrived it had been about 15 minutes. They told my brother that had they not administered the epi pen and benedryl it very well could have cost her life! They said that sometimes people fear using the pen and fatalities occur quickly.

The saddest part of this is (I am crying writing this) she looked at my brother and said "Daddy, am I going to die"? My heart just broke when he told me that.

Please people take this allergy seriously. I am sure most of you heard of the 15 yr old girl that died recently because she kissed her boyfriend, who had eaten a peanut butter sandwich 12 hours earlier, she had a allergic reaction and dropped to her death.

I do not mean to be so morbid before the holidays...I just needed to "talk" a bit.

Thanks,

Kim

 

[pugslee]

 

[Tigger&Belle]

How very scary! I'm so glad that she is ok.

 

[Dakota_Lynn]

That is just terrifying. That poor child. I'm so glad that she is ok. I can imagine how awful this whole thing must have been. Allergies suck!

 

[yeartolate]

Have her allergies always been this bad?

Christmas is a time for those with nut allergies to be extra vigalent. Cookies will always be problematic.

One thing is certain - a well intended homemade cookie "without nuts" is not the same as one that a family member of a child with nut allergies would make.

I am so happy she is safe now.

 

[pumba]

it is something that the kids live with ......and they are so good about it too......Thanks for letting us know that those epi pens work when needed and that the second one in case is always another option......My niece lives out in the boonies and she is a good twenty minutes away from a hospital......so i will remind her that if she uses the epi pen on her daughter to remember if it acts like it is closing again to use a second one........Thanks for the info too

HUGS TO YOUR NIECE AND family and yes there is so much to be thankful here.....

 

[antkim]

Have her allergies always been this bad? Has she considered carrying an epipen?QUOTE]

Yes, she always carries an epipen as does my younger niece. She is always reading labels on any product she is unsure of. Unfortunately, there were cookies sent home by a friend (to my youngest niece) that had been placed on the counter...my sister in law was at the front door saying good bye to a friend when the cookies arrived....my oldest niece walked in at the same time, saw the cookies, grabbed one and went upstairs. She knows that cookies in her house are safe....well, not this time. It was a series of unfortunate events that led to the moment. My poor sister in law is just beating herself up because she always thows away any food item "given" to them because she has no way of knowing what ingredients are in them...she walked the the front door as my niece walked in the back door and the rest is history.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Wow, Kim, what an incident to relate. So glad to hear the outcome was okay, but sure scary to say the least. Good wishes are with her.

 

[barkley]

this is why it is VERY important to always ask when eating out or away from home what type of oil has been used in preparing an item (or items cooked on the same surface/with same utensils). i developed a temporary nut allergy and had a very bad reaction to eggs that had been cooked on a surface coated with a nut based cooking oil.

 

[BelleMcNally]

So glad to hear she is okay.

 

[sorcerormickey]

How very scary!

 

[Cruisin]

Living with these types of allergies is never easy.

Having more than one epi-pen is definitely needed.

My son always carries at least 2 with him at all times. If he's going to be somewhere further from "civilization" he will carry more.

I'm glad that there were no tragic results in this case.

 

[Honu]

That has to be so scary for kids. I hope she's feeling better today. I had a double epipen last night too and have the shaky hands today to prove it. Usually one works, but not always. I carry 2 pens with me at all times.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

OMG!!!!! I'm so glad she's ok. This is why I mention the cookies I've been passing around has peanut butter in it. Very serious stuff. Major hugs for and your family right now.

 

[Pooh93]

OMG! That is beyond scary! So glad everything turned out okay.

 

[anewvance]

Those allergies are so scary! I was reading in People or some other magazine yesterday about that girl who died from kissing her boyfriend who had had peanut butter. It's really so scary... she was being looked over yesterday and i'm so happy she'll be ok.

 

[antkim]

Living with these types of allergies is never easy.

Having more than one epi-pen is definitely needed.

My son always carries at least 2 with him at all times. If he's going to be somewhere further from "civilization" he will carry more.

I'm glad that there were no tragic results in this case.

Cruisin,

I remember your sons allergies well....about 2 yrs ago I posted about my nieces not being able to fly Southwest due to the peanut issue. You responded quite a few times with advice and your own stories. I'm sure you remember that thread as it took quite a few wrong turns!

Thanks guys for all of your thoughts...what a horrible, horrible feeling. I could not imagine dealing with a loss like that. Makes me want to never let my kids out of my house again!

 

[YourMajesty]

I'm so glad to hear she is ok. Is she fullly recovered now? I had a tear just reading your post. My DS (5) had throat swelling after dinner this summer and we haven't identified the cause...not from a lack of testing. Well wishes to your neice. Hope you and your family have a fun and safe holliday.

 

[ducklite]

Have her allergies always been this bad?

Christmas is a time for those with nut allergies to be extra vigalent. Cookies will always be problematic.

One thing is certain - a well intended homemade cookie "without nuts" is not the same as one that a family member of a child with nut allergies would make.

I am so happy she is safe now.

This is so true, and the reason I prefer to make as much of my own food as possible, and avoid "goodies" people bring in to work that aren't store bought with a label. Luckily at this job I'm the only "baker".

Anne

 

[chell]

Hugs to you and her and the rest of the family. So thankful to hear that they used the epi and benadryl. Poor thing. I am so glad it didn't end in a bad way.