Ontario A&W staff credited with helping to save woman’s life after allergic reaction

When a customer was stung by a wasp, staff at A&W in Cornwall helped get her an ambulance and an EpiPen from the nearby pharmacy. CTV’s Tyler Fleming reports.

Two employees at an A&W in Cornwall, Ont., are being credited with quick action that helped save an 81-year-old woman’s life after she suffered a severe allergic reaction inside the restaurant.

A&W employee Patricia Harrison recognized the woman as a familiar customer who often visited with a friend on Aug. 27.

“She’s an 81-year-old woman and she comes pretty often,” Harrison told CTV News Ottawa. “Her and her friend, they love to eat here and it’s like their little adventure out.”

But last week, their afternoon adventure turned into a nightmare, shortly after sitting down in the dining area.

“All of a sudden, one of the employees came up to me and said you need to call 9-1-1. Somebody has been stung by a wasp,” said Aimee Boyer, Harrison’s co-worker. “She was stung on the neck by a wasp and her throat was swelling up, her tongue was swelling up, she was starting to go colourless.”

When it became clear the woman didn’t have her own EpiPen, Harrison and Boyer moved quickly.

“We were just trying to act as fast as we possibly could,” said Harrison. “My husband is allergic and I’m like, ‘What would I do if this was me?’”

Pharmacy staff ‘came running’

While remaining on a call with emergency operators and an ambulance on the way, Harrison said she phoned the Walmart pharmacy just steps away, where staff authorized an EpiPen to be sent over.

“They literally dropped what they were doing and came running across the parking lot,” says Harrison, who describes the moment the device arrived. “When (the Walmart employee) had the EpiPen in his hand and he kind of had it held up over his head ... it was like an immediate, thank gosh, you’re going to be okay.”

Boyer was handed the medicine by the Walmart employee, and with the guidance of paramedics over the phone, she says a customer, familiar with its administration, stepped forward to provide the injection.

An EpiPen is an auto-injector which delivers a prefilled dose of epinephrine, used during severe allergic reactions — known as anaphylaxis — to quickly reverse symptoms like swelling, difficulty breathing, and hives, buying time until emergency medical help is available.

“Within seconds of having the EpiPen, things started to come back to normal, the swelling went down, she could breathe again,” recalls Boyer. ”And the gentleman who stepped in to help me out at the table with this lady, I wish I would have got his name. So that way I could have said thank you so much after everything was done.”

In a statement provided to CTV News Ottawa, Cornwall’s paramedic service says the actions of the two employees were crucial in the treatment of the patient and directly contributed to mitigating what otherwise could have been a deadly reaction.

“Seventy per cent of adults do not carry their EpiPen and that’s terrifying because they just think they can avoid the trigger but things happen,” says Debbie Bruce, Canadian Anaphylaxis Initiative director. “EpiPens and epinephrine are the only thing that will rescue them.”

Bruce says stories like this underscore the need to have EpiPens readily available, in public places like restaurants, malls, community centres and arenas, similar to AED (automated external defibrillator) units.

“We’ve worked with businesses and schools and individuals and governments to try to reduce the risk wherever possible. You can never eliminate the risk, but having EpiPen everywhere in the public and really important,” says Bruce. “you don’t need a prescription in Ontario for an EpiPen. You can go to the pharmacy and ask for one. I always carry one.”

In Ontario, a standard EpiPen costs between $100-$150 without insurance coverage; however many insurance providers typically cover most or all of the cost.

‘We just did what we had to do’

Both employees called it a collective effort involving themselves, the customer who stepped in, Walmart pharmacy staff, and emergency phone operators.

“It was a team effort combined, 100 per cent,” said an emotional Harrison. “It’s a stressful experience, but I’m glad I had Aimee and I’m really happy that everything turned out the way it did.”

Soon after the EpiPen was given, paramedics arrived to transport the woman to the hospital. The two workers were told by paramedics she recovered and is now in good health.

Looking back, Boyer said she broke down after the crisis passed.

“I could breathe again. I cried, I definitely cried,” she said. “We just did what we had to do to get her the help that she needed as fast as we could.”

Signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that can be life-threatening. Early warning signs may include:

• Face: itching, redness, swelling of the face and tongue
• Airway: coughing, difficulty breathing, swallowing or speaking
• Stomach: abdominal pain, vomiting or diarrhea
• Body: hives, rash, itching, swelling, weakness, paleness, dizziness, loss of consciousness or a sudden ‘sense of doom’

What to do

• call 911 immediately
• Use an epinephrine auto-injector, like EpiPen, immediately, if available
• Lie the person down with their legs elevated, unless breathing is difficult