There's nothing like a near-death experience to put everything else into perspective. On the drive to northern New Jersey this week we talked about one of the women's fatal allergy to shellfish. She has become more and more sensitive to shellfish over time, to the point now where she cannot be anywhere near it. If she eats grilled meat that's cooked on the same grill as shrimp, she'll have a reaction. If she eats french fries that are fried in the same fryer as fried clams, she'll have a reaction. If shellfish is cooking and she can smell it, she'll have a reaction. She keeps epi-pens with her at all times, and has made people at work aware so they don't order any shellfish for catered lunches.

During the trip this week, she was very careful at lunch to sit at one end of the table and to alert those around her so that they knew not to order any shellfish. Even so, the french fries she was served had been cooked in oil that may have been used for shellfish, despite having told the waiter about her allergy. The chicken she ordered also had apparently come in contact with some form of shellfish, because she had a mild reaction that responded to Benadryl.

Today, she and I were in an all-day meeting together in which lunch was brought in from our cafeteria. She had a small amount of salad and one bite of her sandwich and immediately had a severe reaction. She attempted to use the epi-pen in her purse and was shaking so badly that it didn't inject correctly. At this point she could barely breathe and was starting to panic. We have no epi-pens at work in our first aid kits. She had another one in her office which was all the way across the building. After a mad dash to find her bag and bring it back to her, my own adrenaline level had soared. The second injection was successful and the ambulance crew eventually showed up (a distressingly long amount of time later, despite having been called immediately). She was taken to the hospital to be pumped full of steroids to get the reaction under control.

I talked with her husband this evening and he believes something in her lunch was contaminated. She's had problems with our cafeteria before, and probably should not eat any food from there again. All first aid kits should also contain a supply of epi-pens, and multiple people in each of our buildings need to be trained to use them. I had no idea you could use them through clothing, or that they should be injected into the thigh. We have enough employees with severe enough allergies to warrant this.

I don't know how parents with children who have allergies to peanuts or other common foods can let their kids go to school every day. People who do not have this condition have no appreciation for the fact that simple actions and lack of paying attention can cause another person to die. It's not malicious intent, just a lack of understanding and awareness of the steps that have to be taken to avoid causing problems. If I had an allergy like this, I doubt I could ever trust someone else to prepare my food and would probably only eat foods I had cooked myself. Which would be a sad, sad fate to contemplate, remembering that I have a propensity for burning soup.