03/06/2024
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Good Information
Hi everyone,
Re. Anaphylaxis
I'd really appreciate you reading and sharing this
It's info we'd give anything to have known before July 29th. Even if it hadn't made a difference for Paul, at least we wouldn't be asking "what if" for the rest of our lives.
Thank you ❤
-Lindsay
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Our family feels it’s important to share this information for any of you who have (or know someone who has) anaphylactic reactions to allergens. While we’re told that different circumstances would not have changed the outcome for Paul, this information might save someone else. So with that in mind, here goes...
In July 2018, Paul was stung by one wasp while at Ruthann’s family cottage in southeastern Ontario. He had NO reaction (nor had he ever reacted—or had any inclination of a wasp venom allergy—prior to this in his life).
The very next day, he was stung twice. Within a few minutes, it was clear he was going into anaphylactic shock. Ruthann and her family were quick to call emergency services, and there was an ambulance close by. Paul was well cared-for by the paramedics and at the hospital, and he was home and recovering about 4 hours later.
After some medical appointments and allergy testing, he learned he had an allergy to certain wasp venom (paper wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets. Not bees). He was prescribed EpiPens and kept several (work, home, with him). These EpiPens were the dose prescribed for anyone over 30kgs.
Paul’s doctors said there was a solid chance he only had a reaction that day because of the close proximity of the two stinging incidents (one day apart), and should he only be stung once per year, he had a 50/50 chance of not reacting at all. (Indeed, he was stung a year ago and was absolutely fine.)
On July 29th of this year, he was stung many times after being swarmed. He had his EpiPen and injected it as soon as he recognized the need. Our cousin called 911 right away, but it was clear that his condition was declining. Our family members loaded him into the car and Ruthann and I left with him to meet the ambulance on the road so he could be attended to as quickly as possible.
I won’t go into detail about our car ride with him, because as you can likely imagine, it’s not easy to discuss. We got him to the ambulance while he was still conscious, but at some point therein he went into cardiac arrest. The paramedics and doctors did what they could to revive him and got his heart beating again.
In both the emergency room where Paul was admitted from the ambulance, and later in the ICU, we were told that many adults should be giving themselves two EpiPens at once – that the single dose at a time is not enough (which makes some sense, if it is the same dose for a 30kg child). This runs counter to the drug information provided with the EpiPen, and any prescription Paul had received. Paul carried what he was prescribed and used it as he was instructed.
We were told by the ICU doctors in Sudbury that it was the worst case of anaphylaxis they’d ever treated, and that more EpiPens would not have saved him. There was just too much venom. But it’s hard for us to avoid the “what ifs.”
If you have an EpiPen, please talk to your doctor about whether you have the correct dose for your size, and how many you should carry. Do you ever find yourself more than a few minutes from a hospital? If so, you might need additional doses - even several.
If you love someone who has a severe allergy, get on their case about talking to their doctor about their dosage. Today.
Also, if you’d like to take action in another way: please talk to your local fire department and ask whether they have epinephrine on-site (and on their trucks). We’ve learned that while several fire departments have started carrying EpiPens, not all have them. This is a drug that can save someone’s life, and in our view it’s no different than having a defibrillator or Naloxone on-site.
If there’s anywhere else in your area that you’d expect to have life-saving equipment, please talk to them about keeping EpiPens as well.
We’ll spend the rest of our lives wondering what might have made a difference, but we’d really like to make sure nobody else needs to.
Thanks again to all of you for your support.
Ruthann Arletta Drummond Judi Wye Valerie Wye Whitney Price Tyler Price Hilary Lemay Alex Baker Andrew Drummond Ross Drummond Ruth Ranson Sara Ward Andrew Hursh
