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It was a quiet Saturday morning. Mel’s husband and daughter were at netball, and she had a bit of time before she needed to take their English bulldog Mimi to the vet – but first, breakfast. Like most of us, sometimes food cravings strike, and Mel’s craving was for some leftover takeaway garlic prawns, one of her favourite dishes that she eats all the time.

As Mel explains, “I love seafood and even though I’d eaten this dish all week (three different times in fact!), when I woke up, I was so hungry, and I knew that was what I wanted”. She tucked in, had a coffee, and waited for her breakfast to digest.

What she was expecting was a routine trip to the vet. Like Mel says, “I wasn’t expecting a reaction!”.

Mimi has other plans

When it was time to go to the vet, Mel explains that Mimi simply “stood there and looked at me with a face that clearly said ‘mum, I’m not getting in the car’”. Not a fan of walking normally, this morning she also wasn’t a fan of the car.

With her harness and leash on, she backed up and managed to wriggle out of it, leaving Mel holding an empty leash. Mimi, sensing her freedom, ran off down the road.

Mel describes the loveable Mimi as “naughty”, “full of attitude” and a “plump pudding”. But she managed to get some serious speed up and Mel, who has a blood disorder as well as asthma and other health conditions, simply couldn’t catch her.

Mel describes how Mimi “had so much energy and ran so fast away from me”, leaving Mel panting and struggling to catch her breath in her wake. Mel explains that “generally I can’t walk upstairs without panting or feeling funny” so this run really pushed her to her physical limits.

Luckily, about 800m away, a couple grabbed hold of Mimi and held her until Mel, running and shouting behind her, could get there. With her harness and leash safely on (again) and a thoroughly guilty look on her face, Mel and Mimi completed their journey to the vet on foot.

A collapse at the vet’s

 At first, Mel felt ok. They went straight in for their appointment and when she came out again, Mel remembers “feeling like something was happening. I thought it was because I’m asthmatic or because I was feeling anxious”.

But she noticed that her eyes were burning, her fingers were swelling (“like fat sausages!”) and her vision was going funny, with the light turning yellow. At this point, Mel realised she was “starting to pass out”.

Thankfully, Mel’s husband – who’d she rung while chasing after the escaped Mimi – turned up just in time to see the collapsed Mel. Mel explains that, understandably, her husband “panicked” and put her straight into the car and drove her to Kenepuru Hospital. They arrived at the hospital in minutes.

Mel, who had regained consciousness, promptly vomited on herself when they arrived. Unable to talk, Mel knew she needed to tell someone that she’d eaten prawns. Mel explains that “I managed to whisper, ‘prawns’ to my husband who quickly put two and two together and knew that I’d eaten the leftover takeaway”.

With this information shared with the hospital staff, it was clear that Mel was in anaphylactic shock. She was quickly given some adrenaline alongside other medication and oxygen to help Mel breathe.

“He made me feel so comfortable”

Once Mel was stabilised, the hospital team decided to transfer her to Wellington Hospital where she could be monitored in case she went into anaphylactic shock again.

Enter Ross, Patient Transfer Officer at Wellington Free Ambulance. Upon his arrival in her room, Ross introduced himself, asked what happened and began the task of comforting and transferring Mel. This included “covering me in a blanket, giving me a vomit bag, calming me down and joking with me. He told me to have a snooze and that when I woke up, I’d be in Wellington Hospital”. Straightaway, Mel felt like Ross was “such a pleasant person” who she describes as “extremely funny and bubbly”.

Ross helped Mel through the entire process. From asking if she was ok to get up (Mel jokes that we can “add vertigo to the list of medical issues I experience!”) to asking if she needed a wheelchair and settling her into the ambulance, Ross made sure Mel was ok at every stage of their journey.

When they arrived at the hospital, Ross helped her down into a wheelchair. He told her what was happening – she was being kept at the hospital for observation – and briefed the hospital staff. When Mel’s husband and daughter arrived (they’d driven in the car with Mimi), Ross was quick to welcome them and put them at ease with a well-timed joke or two. Mel says, “he was so attentive and made me feel comfortable and calm in my super stressful situation. He didn't care that I was covered in vomit, he told me jokes and made us laugh and was super amazing”.

Mel remembers that Ross “didn’t leave straightaway or leave me alone in the Emergency Department, he stayed with me the whole time until I was in a room and a doctor had seen me. Although everyone - me, my husband and my daughter - was stressed, Ross made us feel less anxious and like we were in good hands”.

“Thank you for all you do”

Mel and her whānau have only lived in Aotearoa New Zealand for three years, they’re originally from South Africa. This is the first time they’ve called on the services of Wellington Free Ambulance and Mel says: “I truly appreciate Ross and his great service, and the care and kindness shown towards myself. I also appreciate how he made my husband laugh by blaming him for everything!”

In a strange twist of fate, when Mel was recounting her story to a colleague at work and explaining about the paramedic “with his jokes, who made me so comfortable”, he turned to her and said: ‘wait, I know that person! It can only be Ross!’ He showed her a photo on his phone and yes, it was – our paramedics are truly one-of-a-kind.

For now, healthcare staff think that the combination of food and excessive exercise caused this incredibly rare incident. Mel’s waiting for an immunologist referral to rule anything else out and is currently staying away from shellfish.

Although Mel says it was a “traumatic experience” for the whole whānau, she’s “grateful to have real living angels there for us to help when we need them. It takes an enormous amount of courage to do what they do. Thank you for all you do, I’m so grateful to be alive and to live in New Zealand.”

And as for Mimi, the great escape artist? She’s doing well and, according to Mel, “feels bad for what she did!”.

 If you’d like to help us continue to be there for our communities in Greater Wellington and the Wairarapa, you can donate online at: https://www.wfa.org.nz/donate/