Calmly Tyler replied, “Use her EpiPen. It’s inside her backpack.”
Laying her daughter gently on the couch, Kaiya ran to get the backpack and found the pen after unzipping the bag, almost ruining it in her haste. She stumbled as she ran back to the living room where her poor daughter was still gasping for breath.
“What do I do?” she yelled into the phone.
Still in a calm voice, Tyler explained, “You need to make sure the orange tip is pointing downward, pull out the safety cap, and place the orange tip against the middle of her thigh.”
Kaiya, with her hands visibly shaking, did all that Tyler said. “What next?” she shouted hastily.
“Now, push the auto-injector into her thigh until it clicks.”
Kaiya nearly shouted for joy when she heard the click sound.
“Hold it down for three seconds. Count slowly.”
With tears still rolling down her eyes, Kaiya did just that and breathed a sigh of relief when a moment later, Lili started breathing normally again, even though she looked very pale and weak.
“Call 911. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
Kaiya ended the call and quickly called 911. Then she took her daughter into her arms and continued weeping and apologizing.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay, Mommy. You didn’t know,” Lili said weakly in her mother’s arms.
“I should have checked to make sure. I should have asked the salesgirl if the cake was indeed nut-free. After making sure everything at the twins’ party was nut-free, I can’t believe I was so careless about the cake.”
Kaiya continued crying and blaming herself. She couldn’t believe she almost lost her daughter due to her ineptitude. She cuddled the little girl to herself until she had to leave her to go and open the door for the paramedics.
She followed in the ambulance, holding her daughter’s hand and praying she would be alright and have no lasting effect from the allergic reaction.
Tyler came to meet her while she was waiting in the reception area. She rushed into his arms and burst into tears.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” she chanted, weeping.
Tyler hushed her. “It’s okay, Kai. Don’t get yourself worked up over it. Accidents happen.”
Kaiya shook her head. “I should have known better.”
“No, Kaiya. Stop punishing yourself. It happens. It has happened a number of times. You can’t always be sure. All you can do is your best. So don’t beat yourself so much about it, okay?”
Kaiya cried on heedlessly until the doctor came out and told her that her daughter was okay but would have to stay a few days for monitoring. Kaiya was relieved to hear that even though she still blamed herself for the incident.
She hugged her daughter fiercely when they were allowed to see her. She kept asking the little girl to forgive her.
Tyler rolled his eyes. “Kai, she has already said you don’t have to apologize like a hundred times. She’s fine.”
“You don’t understand.” Kaiya sniffed. “I came this close to losing her.”
His features softened. “I understand, Kai, that it has brought back unpleasant memories, but thank God she’s okay now.”
Kaiya nodded and struggled to pull herself together. Indeed it brought back painful memories, but this was a different scenario altogether. She kissed her daughter’s hand and smiled at her.
Kalilah and her family came to visit when they learned of the incident. After that, Kaiya and her sister made sure their homes were nut-free.
Kaiya remained glued to her daughter’s side for the next few days. Even though the doctor told her that Lili was okay now, Kaiya refused to leave her daughter’s side, ensuring that she was well-rested even when they got home.
“Kaiya,” Tyler whispered by the door.
