New Friend

As some of you know, I have developed a strange, new allergy to pineapple since DJ was born. You might be surprised to know all the foods that include pineapple (barbecue sauce, Sweet and Sour Sauce, even cough drops, etc.) in the ingredients. Food manufactures do not have to list it as an ingredient since an allergy to it is rare. Some of you don't know how severe this allergy has become. Janelle almost was able to collect on my life insurance policy about 3 weeks ago. Janelle accidentally fed me a piece of Teriyaki Chicken (actually, she was thinking 50K upgrade). I left the event at the school (which was put by our friend Adrianna) to get some Benedryll into my system. As I ran up the stairs to our apartment, I started to become short of breath. My throat was starting to close off on me. I took the Benedryll, and then drove back to the school to get Janelle (who at this point was trying to call me, since she was worried about me). I was still having some problems breathing once we got home. I almost called the clinic for help, but decided I would probably be okay if I laid down. About 30 minutes after the initial allergy attack, I started to return to normal.

Well, today I heard that 2 doctors from Nome were in our village today and tomorrow to see patients. I called and was able to get some time to visit with Dr. Brock. After describing above story to him he asked if I would be able to wait a few more minutes while he looked a couple of things up for me. Well after seeing how pineapple juice is frequently used as a "Natural Flavor" he issued me an epi pen. An epi pen will stop the reaction almost immediately if I ever unintentionally get pinapple again, and have a severe reaction. The only draw back is that I will still need a dosage of Benedryl to stop the reaction, and will need to go to an emergency room right away. Getting a shot with the epi pen has the same affect to the body as drinking 30 cups of coffee in one sitting (i.e. getting really, really, really hyper and then crashing for the next two days). So... I guess I'm safer now... but I'm hoping I'll never have to use it.

Jake