Posted on 03/15/2013 9:32:28 AM PDT by bgill
Robin Fitzpatrick never knew peanuts could kill her son... The Plymouth, Mass., native was first diagnosed with a nut allergy when he was 8, after projectile-vomiting "across the room" at a Chinese restaurant, his mother said. In high school he suffered from a serious allergic reaction after he dropped his asthma inhaler into a pile of acorns... his mom couldn't find his Epi-Pen -- an epinephrine autoinjector. She had one in her cupboard but it had expired two months earlier. First responders told her over the phone that she shouldn't use it.
(Excerpt) Read more at gma.yahoo.com ...
Always do what the authorities say. That’s why they’re called authorities!
You can thank, at least in part, our hyper-litigious society for this.
I too was shocked a 911 operator would tell her to not use the epipen just because of the expiration date, but then it hit me. They are probably told to not advise anyone to use out of date medication because, if they do, and the victim dies, then that gives a crack for some sleaze ambulance chaser to squirm his way in to sue the 911 department.
So of course the mother shares some of the blame for her stupidity, but in this comedy of errors, there is also still plenty of blame for the creature we call the “civil lawyer”.
i’d have used the pen.
if that wouldn’t have worked i’d have cut an airway in his trachea and put a straw or pen tube in there temporarily.
Some people lose all sense in a crisis. Maybe we are so conditioned to ask for help or to find someone else to take care of things that when real crisis happens, we become paralyzed.
A friend of ours had a crisis recently when her husband went into diabetic shock/coma. The husband recently had an insulin pump inserted into his person. His physician changed his insulin dosage for weekends. The dosage was BAD. The wife went into a panic because she had not had to deal with this kind of reaction in so long. She asked her son to dial 911, but the son was in a panic and could not do anything beyond running in circles. That’s when wife got it all together and took control. But initially, she was scared out of her wits. Literally. Anywho, she sent her son for a neighbor. She took over the phone thing. One problem she found with the phone is that the dispatcher was having trouble finding their address because wife called from a cell phone because they have no land line. The neighborhood is new. I’m not sure if their address is even on a map yet. It took the ambulance more than 30 minutes to arrive when it is literally within walking distance—less than a mile from their house!!!
Even if you performed the procedure correctly and gained access to the trachea, a cricothyrotomy probably wouldn't have helped in this case, because much of the critical airway constriction is further down in the smaller airways of the lungs.
However, it might be helpful if the kid was also choking on a piece of the cookie.
Yeah, you raise a good point. People can become mentally incapacitated during a crisis, but at some base level common sense should kick in when its a life and death situation. But yeah, I’m sure this poor soul is suffering and for that I grieve.
The most lasting memory of Katrina was a white woman on the bridge hollering at the tv guy the water he'd given her wasn't properly chilled. Are we so stuck on stupid that we'd rather die of dehydration than drink a bottle of tepid water?
No the tragedy here is the 19 year old did not know, not to accept food substance from anyone being that he was the keeper of his life. The food does not have to have peanuts in it, just cooked in peanut oil is enough to cause severe reaction or death.
As far as the medication being out of date, It was her only option she should have taken it!
911 pps should be advised of their action and advice when death is an issue!
Some weeks later we each performed a simple blood test on our own blood. A mix of fine Teflon balls is mixed with the blood sample and gently rocked on the slide to mix. Antigens and antibodies in the serum coat the balls. If there is an auto immune mix, the balls clump hard. My fellow students were much annoyed when 10 minutes of gently rocking netted no results. When I did it, my slide clumped with only 3 tips of the slide. Oops. A warning that rheumatoid arthritis was in my future. I was 20 years old at the time. Last week the bill came due. I'm 56 and the classic joint problems presented in my left hand joints and wrist.
The immune system is a wonderful thing, but it can also be very damaging.
They must have been playing bingo when they numbered our county roads because there’s no logic to them - CR123 might be 30 miles from CR124 or CR45 might be on the opposite side of the county of CR45-E. Most people don’t understand to stay on the line and tell the operator which part of the county they’re in and the nearby landmarks. Make that several landmarks because the operators or drivers don’t have a clue where they’re located.
One other thought. The Mom should have had the medication in proper form as so should he have the medication on his person!
People with Life Alert Bracelets and Necklaces never go anywhere with out them.
What people do not understand here is that if the EMT woman said to take the med and it was out of date and something bad happened because of the out of date med, she would be liable, lose her job and be sued.
But since she followed best practices and said not to take the medication she is covered. Doesnt matter whether the patient dies or not, she followed procedure. That is why no firemen saved drowning man last year, they were not certified for water, they cannot help or if they do and something goes wrong they lose their jobs. The death does not matter.
This is a regulatory crazy world.
This is where our suit happy legal system has taken us.
Let’s hope that city decided to certify their firemen for water. I guess 2 life preservers and a rope are too much weight for a 150,000 dollar fire engine!
Very interesting story. Sorry about the rheumatoid arthritis. I am 64 and rheumatoid arthritis is starting up, I think, and just adds to my long list of issues.
Getting old isn’t for sissies. ;>)
I dont think it matters whether they had the equipment, it mattered whether they were certified.
It’s called stupidity like guy that was arrested for spraying water on his house to keep it from burning down seems the cops got there but no Fire Engine. The flames were jumping from the neighbors house to his and he was just trying to keep it contained!
The Cops deemed his life was at risk and arrested him. And the housed burned down.
Cops cannot fight fires.
The pain in my hand didn’t improve with ibuprofen, but hot water helped immediately. Getting old sucks, but it beats the alternative
Yes, every day on this side of the dirt is a win. ;>)
My wife made a couple cloth bags filled with grains of rice. I put it in the microwave for a few seconds and place it where it hurts... it helps me with pain.... mostly with muscle cramps.
As if one of the firemen couldn’t have said to sign him out for the day, strip out of his uniform and jump in the water as a private citizen. Of course, someone would still have sued him but he wouldn’t have to live the rest of his life knowing he picked lint from his belly button while someone died.
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