My sister-in-law recently had a very scary experience where she had an allergic reaction to a blueberry, and she has eaten blueberries for years, she has never experienced anything like this.
Earlier this year I had an allergic reaction to a medication I was on for my back issues and had a scary psychosis side effect happen. I have never been allergic to anything, but come to find out I am allergic to medications with steroids. I think it is so important to share our stories in the hope to help others.
When I heard her story I immediately thought of young people away at college or people similar to her, who have never had an allergic reaction to anything. Would you know what to do? Would you know the symptoms to look for? It is also important for bystanders to know what to do. Too often unless we experience something or know someone close to us who experiences something, we can't relate, or we don't fully understand and know the gravity of the situation. Not only is her story important to share in regards to anaphylactic shock, but also for a reminder about compassion. We should look at everyone and every situation through the eyes of compassion.
She shared pictures and her story on Facebook and I asked for permission to share her story.
Below are her words:
**warning long post - my story with pics to boot 
- def not cute, but very real I don’t do these type of posts often-consider this my PSA for October:
Less than a week ago, without some divine intervention, I probably would have died. I’m a relatively healthy 45 year old and I’ve never been allergic to any type of food in my entire life. However, on that Friday, October 14th, after eating some blueberries from Sams Club (which I have eaten hundreds of times), my body went into an anaphylactic shock. Within a matter of minutes, my lungs started wheezing and my breathing became so labored, it was difficult to talk. My nasal passage almost immediately blocked and I could feel the pressure in both my ears. My eyes begin to itch and swell so much, I could not open them to see. It felt as though there were a million tiny rocks rolling around the surface of my pupils.
I’m so grateful my husband had been running a few errands with me that morning. If I had been alone, I would not have been able to drive myself. I had him take me home, not realizing the seriousness of what was happening. My plan was to hop in the shower, hoping to “wash off “ whatever it was that was causing my swelling eyes and my labored breathing. The shower proved to be no help at all. It went from really bad-to really, really bad in just a matter of minutes.
My breathing became progressively worse. I knew it was time to head to an emergency room- I didn’t know what else to do or how to remedy this. On my way there I can’t explain the feeling of not being able to breathe, gasping for air & not getting enough of it. It was so surreal what was happening.
Thankfully, we only live seven minutes from the nearest emergency room- Rancho Springs Medical Center My husband pulls the car into the emergency entrance loop, and by this time, I've lost color to my face, I’m disoriented and I just keep telling him “I can’t breathe “ -repeatedly grabbing at my throat as though somehow I could remove what felt like a vice grip around my neck. The emergency room security guard does not realize the gravity of my situation and tells my husband to bring me in line in a wheelchair since I was no longer able to stand on my own- still gasping for air. My husband‘s reply at that point was, “I don’t think that’s going to work- she CAN’T breathe.” The security guard quickly gets on the phone and calls an ER nurse to come out.
I am so grateful even more for first responders and their ability to do their job in complete calm. As soon as the assessing nurse sees me, she realizes my body had gone into an anaphylactic shock, clears the pathway, and hurriedly wheels me into an exam room. At this point, I have three nurses come into the room where one administers an epinephrine injection to my inner thigh as soon as they secure me on a bed.
The relief I felt after that injection- within minutes -gets me emotional thinking about it right now. Then, they administered a large dose of Benadryl and a steroid to try to reduce the swelling on my face. All that mattered to me, was that my lungs were cleared and I could breathe. It was amazing. I truly believe God used that team to save my life.
I had a huge paradigm shift that night. Prior to my own personal experience, I had always considered people who had a nut allergy, or a dairy allergy or any food-related allergy could overcome their situation somehow- and maybe they were just a bit too “sensitive”- not that I was unkind in any way, but I don’t think I was as empathetic as I am now or as compassionate towards the severity of what someone can go through in an anaphylactic reaction.
It was a very traumatic experience because of the unknown factor. My husband didn’t know the signs to look for, and I had no clue what was happening to my body or the words to articulate my pain and discomfort. It wasn’t until I did some research after I was released from the hospital that I became aware of the severity of these conditions. I had gone through every symptom they listed within a 30-minute period- it was unreal!
So my hope in posting this is twofold. I hope that I am more considerate & compassionate of how serious illnesses are for specific people and the battles they face- we don’t know what others are struggling with- so we can’t judge their battle.
Secondly, I pray that people will become aware of what to look for in someone who is experiencing something like this and how to either administer help to them or get them to a place they can be helped in a short amount of time- a life could be spared as a result. Please feel free to share.
Be kind. Be Well. Be aware 
A grateful life,
El 
I also wanted to share in case you are not aware of GoodRx a website where you can save on prescriptions. After her experience when she went to get an EpiPen, to be prepared in case it ever happens again, the EpiPen was crazy expensive, and not very much was covered through her insurance. She was able to use GoodRx and save some money. Over the years I have used GoodRx so I wanted to make sure to share. They are a great resource to see if you can save on any medications you or your loved ones may be taking.
Another option to look to save money on prescriptions is Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. I personally have not used this one, but you can search their website to see if they carry the prescription you are looking to save on. The pharmaceutical and medical industry is crazy expensive it is a multi-billion dollar industry. I am always open to finding ways to save. I love that Mark Cuban has come up with this idea and started this company. "Everyone should have safe, affordable medicines with transparent prices."– Mark Cuban
Back to touching on compassion, it is a great reminder to be mindful of others and what they may be allergic to. I remember when my kids were younger, it was frequently asked amongst our kids' classrooms, playdates, and general get-togethers with other families if anyone had any allergies. None of my kids are allergic to anything, so asking about allergies is not always on the front of my mind, but it is important to ask whenever you have other people's children in your care.
This situation also has made me have conversations with my older children, hopefully, to prepare them in case they are around any kind of medical emergency, I hope I can help them be prepared as much as possible. When I had my allergic reactions to medication earlier this year, thankfully my husband kept pushing for me to be seen, he knew something wasn't right. Thankfully I had kept a log in my phone notes, of every dose I took and I tracked every time I had slept, which was not very much. I had gone more than 24 hours without sleeping. All of my notes helped my husband and my doctors get to the bottom of what was going on. Please share this with your family and friends.
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