“I see and appreciate things differently after this experience.”

An experience in my life that stands out is when I was 16 years old in the hospital having an allergic reaction to seafood. Imagine not being able to breathe and you don’t even know why. This was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. It’s something so meaningful to me because it was a life changing situation.

I loved seafood and used to eat it all the time with no problem. My favorite were crab legs. There were a couple different times that we noticed that after I had crab legs that my lip would swell slightly, but it would go away within a few hours. My parents thought it was odd but didn’t think much of it since it went away. The thought of being allergic to it never crossed our minds. One particular time that I had a reaction, I didn’t even eat the seafood directly; I ate some food that the seafood had touched. Later that day, I went to the gym to work out with my mother. You know when you haven’t worked out in a while, you tend to be out of breath but this time felt different. I was pale, clammy and my breathing was labored. My mother rushed me to the hospital. During the car ride there you could hear wheezing in my throat. For me it was so scary because I felt like I was dying and I didn’t know what to do.

They took me back right away at the hospital when my mother told them my symptoms. Several doctors rushed in right away and were attending to me. They gave me an EpiPen, had me breathing in a tube and put me on an IV immediately. I felt like I was in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy; so many doctors in and out, the urgency and all the medical terms and tools. At the time, I didn’t realize the magnitude of the severity of what was actually happening. The doctors informed us that I did have an allergic reaction and that my airway was closing. They explained that when you are allergic to something that your first couple times of coming into contact with it may be mild but the more you have it the worse your reaction may be. I was diagnosed with Anaphylaxis which is a severe, potentially life threatening allergic reaction.

This was such a meaningful experience for me and has shaped my life. I learned something about myself that I never knew. I learned that I can’t eat any shelled seafood or anything that has come into contact with it. I had to educate myself on Anaphylaxis and I now have to carry an EpiPen with me at all times. I was only 16 and I quickly realized how quickly life can change. I see and appreciate things differently after this experience. I’m much more vigilant and aware when I go out to eat. If I’m not, I’m risking my life.

-Courtney S.