A man with an allergy to wasp stings says a public epinephrine auto-injector program in New Brunswick should be expanded after he went into anaphylactic shock over the weekend.
Wellington McLean was having lunch with his family in Martin Head, N.B., on Saturday when he suffered a serious allergy attack to three wasp stings.
"I knew I was taking air in and I could not get air out," McLean told CTV Atlantic about his allergic reaction. "My throat was swelling and my tongue was blocking the airway – it was almost an immediate effect."
Martin Head is located south of Sussex, N.B., where Allerject epinephrine auto-injectors have been made available at dozens of sites as part of a pilot program.
McLean's quick-thinking daughter drove her father to a hunting lodge, located approximately 23 kilometres away from Martin Head, that happened to be a part of the program.
"His lips were blue," lodge owner Ida Adair said. "He was swollen beyond recognition."
A first responder who was at the lodge at the time injected the medication into McLean, saving him from the potentially life-threatening allergic reaction.
McLean believes that without the auto-injector, he would not be alive today.
"My family probably would have been planning a funeral, which I am not happy to say, but it is the truth," he said.
According to McLean, he's been stung by wasps before but Saturday was the first time he went into anaphylactic shock because of a sting. He now wants the pilot program expanded to other areas.
"This program is the most wonderful thing I have ever seen in my opinion," he said. "I could be a little biased right now but it is the truth."
Spearheaded by nurse practitioner Kelly Dunfield a few months ago, the pilot program makes the auto-injectors available at 30 different sites in the Sussex area. Dunfield said when she first began educating the public about the program, she hoped they would never have to be used.
"When we did all of the education, we said to people, 'We hope you never have to use this – that would be the goal,'" she said.
Lodge owner Adair said she is glad to be a part of the pilot program.
"We are in a remote area," she said. "Things can happen really quickly here."
With a report from CTV Atlantic's David Bell
This story has been updated to reflect the proper name of epinephrine auto-injector used in the pilot project.
