My Crowning Moment - NOT

All of us have had them, moments we wish never happened; moments we don't admit to; those we keep re-living over and over as we wonder what in the h*** we were thinking...yes, even those not so "Crowning Moments". You know...like the big flat out face plant we took while crossing a big intersection on BYU campus whilst everyone looked on? Or, singing a solo on a big stage, with the spotlight glaring down, only to lose your place and forget what you were singing? (there is much more to that story) How about walking up to a parked car in a crowded parking lot (thinking it was yours) and trying to get the key into the door lock wondering why it won't go in, only to look up and see a passenger/stranger in the front seat staring at you? (I can't claim the last one...but I was the passenger.) Well, here is my latest silly story of stupidity, carelessness, and ultimate embarrassment...

My little Dakota's peanut allergy requires us to have an EpiPen, Jr. in our home and at the school she attends (a pen with a needle that delivers the epinephrine needed in case of anaphylaxis). The Rx came with a trainer pen that allows family members to practice using the pen, so that we can be prepared if we need to use it. Dakota and I have been practicing with the trainer for a few days after we got it, but not within that last week or so. So the trainer pen sat next to the real deal in the medicine cabinet.

Here's what the Trainer Pen looks like.

Here's what the real EpiPen looks like.


Here they are side by side. The gray label is the trainer
and the green one is the real pen.

Can you see where I'm going with this?

Monday night, after the girls went to bed, Darin and I finally got a chance to talk about stuff...just stuff. It occurred to me that perhaps Darin (who had just gotten home from the Philippines) would be interested in being trained on how to use the EpiPen. So off I go to grab the trainer...Within seconds of walking back into the room, I had pulled the safety cap off and jabbed the pen into my outer thigh, explaining the process all the while. As I jabbed it in, I heard/felt a snap different from the snap the "trainer pen" makes...I pulled the pen away from my thigh as we wondered what shot off the end of it. Here is what happened next...

Alisa: "That was weird."

Darin: "That's because you used the real thing!"

Alisa: "What? No I didn't. I didn't feel a thing!"

Darin: "Yes you did! Look at that needle!"

Alisa: (Sudden rush of adrenaline - or should I say epinephrine...heart starts racing...was this because I really got some meds in there? or is it just the shock from realizing what I had just done?) "What?! How could that have happened?"

Darin: "You used the real EpiPen! You just put it into you!"

Alisa: "It couldn't have gone in! There is no hole in my pants!" (as I look for a hole)

Darin: "That is a small needle. You wouldn't be able to tell. Check yourself."

Alisa: (Checking, checking...blood on the unders...blood on the leg) "Oh, it went in! I can't believe I just did that. I am so stupid. UGH! What was I thinking! (another big sigh) "What should I do?"

Darin: "What do you feel like? Are you o.k.? We need to get that needle back inside."

I continue to search for the safety cap that is supposed to snap back on to hide the needle back inside. Can't find it...Darin goes to the internet to read up on the situation. He reads: "Epinephrine injected right into a vein can be very dangerous and lethal!) I inform him that it didn't go into a vein and that I am fine. (I really was, other than feeling like I had just had a few cups too many of coffee - not that I would know what that feels like.)

Alisa: "The needle was not in very long. It's supposed to stay in the thigh for 10-15 seconds to deliver all the meds. It was only in for 2 seconds' if that."

Darin: "Not even that long, maybe one. You better go get a band-aid on that and clean yourself up."

(I get a band-aid. Darin continues to look on internet, but soon goes to KSL website to read other news. I guess the drama died down pretty fast. Still can't find the safety cap. Figure we have to bend the needle down and expose of it carefully."

Darin: "I hope you're gonna be o.k."

Alisa: "I promise. I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm more upset about my stupidity than anything. I can't believe I just did that!"

(I continue to make school lunches...life goes on...I still feel a little jittery...leg is starting to feel sore at injection site...read more up on the internet about accidental EpiPen injections to find out that it happens all the time...feel a little better...get ready for bed...say prayers - thank Heavenly Father that it wasn't any worse of an accident...climb into bed...wonder what I'm going to tell the Pediatrician when I ask for yet another Rx for the same thing I just got filled two weeks ago...realize that the Rx came with refills...what am I going to tell the Pharmacist when he sees me picking up the Rx AGAIN!...can't sleep because leg is pretty sore...lay on the other side...realizing that the injection itself didn't even hurt - never felt needle go in...finally drift off to sleep.)

Next morning, Rx refill is called in. Talk Darin into picking it up at the pharmacy for me.

Darin goes in to pick up new EpiPen...Pharmacists asked the "why" question and Darin couldn't resist telling him what I did. The Pharmacist is dying laughing...says he's heard of that happening all the time. He wanted to know how I felt and how I was doing. Come to find out, Darin told people at his work, and one of his co-workers wives did it before, too.

Anyway...long story made longer...I am so embarrased about what I did; however, it's one of those stories that is too funny to keep to yourself. I am grateful that it wasn't any worse. The brighter side of the whole experience, is that I now know (on a smaller scale) how the Epi Pen works and can talk Dakota through the accelerated heart rate, jitters, wobbly legs, and soreness after the fact, if she ever has to have it. Heaven forbid that we ever need to use this thing again! It's one of those Rx's that you hope you'll just throw away when it expires.

I've laughed plenty at myself over the last couple of days. It's time to laugh at someone else. Any "not-so-Crowning Moments" that you are willing to share?