Allergies Are No Joke

I spent last night in the emergency room with my wife who had an allergic reaction. She had eaten some shrimp and then went to the gym to workout. Apparently, exercise can take even a minor allergy and cause a significant reaction, significant enough so that I had to call 911 for emergency medical help.

Now, my wife is the toughest person I know. She had 4 kids via C-section, has never called in sick. Was raised in a very large Irish Catholic family and had to learn to fend for herself from a very young age. When salespeople call on us, they always look at me and I laugh because it's my wife who needs to be convinced to buy, or else there will be no sale.

Yet, here we were, my wife, of all people telling me to call 911. Scary is not the right word to describe my feelings. It was beyond that. Thankfully, we got her the care she needed quickly and after a steroid and lots of IVs and various other drugs, she recovered.

The reason for this post is actually to educate on how dangerous allergies can be. We had no idea my wife was allergic to shrimp. We've eaten them many times. But for some reason, this time was different.

Allergies don't just affect "sickly" kids as portrayed in the movies, either. My own two boys are seriously allergic to peanuts. Exposure is literally a life or death issue. One time I had to inject an Epipen into my 6 month old boy when he was going into shock. Turns out after I had eaten a PBJ sandwich I gave him a kiss on his cheek and the residue of that peanut butter sandwich caused his reaction. I shudder to think what would have happened if my wife didn't insist we call 911 as I thought he was crying for attention and just needed some "tough love".

Allergies affect many, many people in America today. I don't remember hardly ANYONE with allergies growing up. I have my own feelings as to why this seems so prevalent today but I won't elaborate here. But what I ask of my LinkedIn friends and colleagues is to please, please, please be considerate of those with allergies. Shoot, get yourself diagnosed too! It can't hurt. The last thing you need is to be at the gym, working out hard, then break out in hives that cover your body, get dizzy and have no one to come to your rescue as your throat closes up and you can't breath.

Know the risks and know what you can do for yourself, your family and other people who may have an allergic reaction.

Blessings!