{"id":47,"date":"2020-03-05T15:05:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T15:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allergicliving.flightdeckmedia.com\/thisallergiclife\/?p=47"},"modified":"2025-04-15T17:54:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T17:54:32","slug":"i-was-reacting-when-i-learned-ambulances-dont-always-carry-epi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allergicliving.com\/thisallergiclife\/i-was-reacting-when-i-learned-ambulances-dont-always-carry-epi\/","title":{"rendered":"I Was Reacting When I Learned: Ambulances Don’t All Carry Epi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Ben
Matt’s photo booth shots of his family during the vacation in New Jersey.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It was the end of a week of\nvacation at the New Jersey Shore with a group of friends I\u2019d gone to high\nschool with. There were 13 adults and 14 kids all staying in the same house. It\nwas our last night together, and I was pumped for a great end to the week. I\nran out to a boardwalk deli to grab an Italian sub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve had numerous food allergies since I was a child to peanuts,\ntree nuts, shellfish and dairy. The deli workers assured me that the sandwich\ncontained no dairy or nuts. The sub came with fries, but I just didn\u2019t think to\nask about cross-contamination in the fryer. Back at the house, I started to\neat, and within about five minutes, I began coughing and wheezing. Then I broke\nout in insane hives, and was itching from the top of my head to my feet. I was\nshort of breath. I thought, “This cannot be happening right now.”  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve had many minor reactions over the years, but I was always\nable to treat them with antihistamines. I haven\u2019t needed an epinephrine auto-injector\nsince I was under age 10, and I\u2019m 37 years old now. But I knew I was going into\nsevere anaphylaxis \u2013 and it was the worst reaction I\u2019d ever had as an adult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Ambulance, I was Scared<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My wife is a registered nurse who works in a hospital\ncardiac intensive care unit. I pulled her into a back bedroom to tell her what\nwas happening. I almost felt embarrassed that I was having a reaction, even\nthough I know I shouldn\u2019t feel that way. I told her to call 911. She told the\ndispatcher I was having an anaphylactic reaction. I could feel my body shutting\ndown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had one EpiPen with me, which my wife injected into my\nthigh. When the rescue squad arrived about five minutes later, they loaded me\ninto the ambulance, took my blood pressure, put on an oxygen mask, and started\nto drive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife asked the driver if they had epinephrine in case I\nneeded more. He told her “no”. At this point, I was genuinely scared.\nI assumed the ambulance would be equipped to treat basic emergency situations\nlike anaphylaxis. But they couldn\u2019t do anything to help me if I needed more\nepinephrine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ambulance crew told me we needed to make a stop to pick up paramedics. I later learned that paramedics have more training than the emergency responders in the first ambulance. The paramedics jumped on board and started an IV to prep me for the hospital, but they didn\u2019t give me more epinephrine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the 13-mile ride there, the reaction didn\u2019t seem to be\ngetting a lot worse, but it wasn\u2019t getting a lot better either. I was relieved\nto get to the hospital, but not for long. Suddenly, I was struggling to breathe\nagain. I told my wife that I needed more epinephrine \u2013 now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experience a Wakeup Call<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Matt
Matt’s “medical alert” tattoo.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

She ran and got the staff and they gave me the shot, along\nwith fluids, antihistamines and steroids. Within a few minutes, I was feeling\nmuch better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m still not sure what triggered the reaction. I went back\nto the restaurant to try to educate them, and they were very defensive. They insisted\nthere was no dairy in the sandwich and nothing in the fryer that could have\ncaused it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experience really shook me. I realized I had gotten somewhat\ncomplacent about my food allergies because I\nhadn\u2019t needed epinephrine in almost 30 years. But I’m a father of two kids now,\nages 4 and 2. I can\u2019t mess around with my life. Now I take two auto-injectors with\nme everywhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also got a \u201cmedical alert\u201d tattoo on my forearm that says\n\u201callergies anaphylaxis.\u201d It\u2019s there in case I\u2019m having a reaction, and I can\u2019t\ntalk to tell anyone what\u2019s wrong. But it\u2019s also a reminder to me to be\naccountable, to make sure I always have my auto-injectors.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matt Barber told his story to writer Jenifer Goodwin.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Can You Do to Prepare?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jen Jobrack, founder of Food Allergy Pros<\/a> in Chicago, offers this advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n