It was just a fun night dining out with friends. But in a split second Susanne Gervay’s evening took the most terrifying turn.
She began to choke. Hives erupted across her body, her eyes began to swell and she was struggling to breathe. Fortunately, her then-husband bundled her into a car and within minutes she was on a trolley in a nearby hospital.
If he had taken any longer, Susanne would most probably have died in the restaurant. As she lay in hospital, she tried to come to terms with what had happened. The doctors told her it was an anaphylactic reaction. But she had never had one before. It was then revealed that it was a prawn that had nearly ended her life.
Susanne, then in her thirties, had always enjoyed eating prawns. When dining out with friends she would order them from the menu, at home, she would devour them dipped in sauce, and never once did she think they could become a health hazard.
“I always loved prawns and had no problem with them until the day I had a sudden reaction,” the children’s author, now 65, says. “My body seized up when I ate it. The reaction happened pretty well straight away,” she recalls. “The first sign was that I was not able to swallow. It took about 20 minutes before the full-blown allergy took charge.”
Fortunately, Susanne was not alone. With her then-husband on hand, she was rushed towards help as she began to choke and her body, face and airway began to swell. “I was driven to the hospital – which luckily is close by,” she says – remembering that her swollen appearance came as something of a benefit. “It was an important thing to be choking, collapsing and looking like I had been punched out. It meant the hospital admitted me immediately.”
Doctors injected Susanne with adrenalin and cortisone to combat the reaction and she spent several days in hospital to recover. “They had no idea why I suddenly reacted,” the former teacher and university lecturer explains. “I was sent to the allergic team of doctors who did tests, but even they ended up saying, ‘No idea.’ I was given an EpiPen which I should carry at all times, and I was discharged with steroid tablets. I looked pretty bad as it took weeks for the swelling to subside.”
The charity Allergy UK lists seafood as one of the most common food allergies in adults. The condition can develop at any point in a person’s life – even if the patient has eaten fish or shellfish without any problems in the past. It is still unknown what causes allergies to food, however, medical experts have noted a link between food allergies and other allergic conditions, such as asthma, hay fever and eczema. Allergy UK estimates that the NHS spends £1 billion per year combatting allergic reactions in patients – and cases are on the rise.
In 2023, the World Health Organisation made the prediction that one in two Europeans will suffer from chronic allergic diseases by 2026 – with no clear explanation as to why there is a growing rate of allergies forming in the global population. While some allergies are more common than others, all allergies have the potential to trigger unwanted symptoms or severe reactions that can require emergency treatment.
“I admit upfront that I was always the allergic kid,” Susanne explains. “I always suffered from hives, I was allergic to stone fruit, nuts and worst of all, chocolate. The good news is that I grew out of those allergies eventually at around 25. But I’m also allergic to penicillin – I get anaphylaxis from that too.”
Susanne confesses that she has been guilty of leaving home without her EpiPen on a number of occasions, laughing, “I’d rather have a brush in my handbag as I have not enough room for an EpiPen!” However, the risk of a reaction does remain with her as her allergy is so severe.
“I was trained on how to use the EpiPen by a nurse on an orange. I am not fond of injecting myself,” she says. “But I need to be able to inject it in case I have another episode.”
She now lives with her daughter Tory and two-year-old granddaughter, Violet Rose, and recently completed writing a new illustrated children’s book in tribute to her granddaughter. “It’s called Guess How I Was Born,” Susanne explains. “Violet Rose is an IVF baby and she is so loved. The book is about all families – however, they are formed. I am excited to release it this year.”
And while she misses being able to enjoy one of her favourite foods, the proud grandmother is happier being able to spend precious time with her family. “I love prawns,” she says, “but hey, I’d rather live than die of anaphylaxis!”