I will report back to the quadlist on my meeting re: epi pen. It's interesting to hear that others have had the same issue. I'll print out your emails and take them with me as testimonials (will black out your name/email address.)
The idea of involving an OT has merit. I'll contact an OT friend to get her input on crafting a few prototypes from coloplast material. I welcome further testimonials or input.You guys are the best! Don P On Wednesday, February 12, 2014 12:02 PM, Don Smith <[email protected]> wrote: Can you please follow up with the group with any outcome, This past spring I had a bad reaction to medi honey also called munuka (spelling) honey, it comes from New Zealand. I spent 6 hours in the ER. and carry an eppy pen when I'm out but I am a c5/6 incomp. quad and would also have problems if the need came up. I'm not sure if it's all honey and bee products, but better safe then sorry. Don ________________________________ From: Don Price <[email protected]> To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 11:56 AM Subject: [QUAD-L] Epi Pen I've recently had a strange allergic reaction that causes my lips and face to swell. It happens about once per month, in the middle of the night and so far we haven't been able to determine the cause. Yesterday I saw a specialist (Allergist) and we're doing some tests to find the cause. She wants me to have an epi-pen with me in case my air ways ever start to swell shut. An epi-pen is for emergency injections of epinephron, and you basically stab it into your thigh and it auto-injects medication. We worked with two different 'dummy pens' that have no needle or medication just to teach me how to use the pen if I ever needed it in an emergency. However, I was unable to grasp either of the pens well enough to push down hard enough to trigger the auto-inject mechanism. My doctor insists that I be able to do it myself in case of emergency. My question is: do any of know of an epi-pen that is more 'quad friendly?' My doctor admitted she had never considered this situation, although it could easily be an issue for anyone with limited hand function such as arthritis or gout. So, my doctor is having reps from the companies that sell these pens come in and meet with me/her so we can brainstorm on a solution. I welcome any input from my quadlist friends. Don Price Tempe, AZ
