Petersburg firefighter Captain Cody Edlin became an off-duty hero when he used his son’s EpiPen to save a woman at a local park. The incident occurred on an unplanned Sunday afternoon visit to Crump Park with his seven-year-old son. While enjoying their time on the playground, Edlin was in “full daddy mode” when he noticed a commotion that would quickly turn into a life-or-death situation.
While at the playground, Edlin heard a gathering at a nearby pavilion. “While we were playing on the playground, I don’t know if it was family, they had a gathering at the pavilion right there at the playground,” Edlin said. The veteran fire captain, with 13 years of experience, knew immediately that something was wrong. “I heard a bunch of commotion while I was over there by the slides,” Edlin recalled. “I saw her friends really in panic.”
At first, Edlin thought that someone was choking. He quickly went to the pavilion to see if he could help. “I heard her friends say she has an allergy and she doesn’t have her EpiPen,” Edlin said. This statement immediately hit close to home, as he is the father of a son with a peanut allergy and understood the severity of the situation.
Edlin could see the woman was suffering a serious medical emergency. “She was having severe difficulty breathing,” he said. Without a second thought, the firefighter sprinted to his car to retrieve his son’s EpiPen. He knew he had to act fast to prevent a tragic outcome.
Back at the pavilion, Edlin wasted no time. “So I stuck her with the EpiPen and I held it there for about a minute,” Edlin said. The results were almost immediate. “It wasn’t probably but 10 seconds, to maybe 20 seconds, she was instant relief, she started talking again, she started talking again.” The quick and decisive action by Edlin saved the woman’s life.
Afterward, Edlin reflected on the experience and how his training was helpful. “I’ve been doing this 13 years. I’ve never had to give anybody any type of epinephrine,” Edlin said. He credits his “full daddy mode” and the woman’s friends for understanding what was happening and calling for help. “I don’t know what the outcome could have been, I don’t think it would have been good,” he said.
With his son watching, Edlin used the incident as a teaching moment. He was glad he was there and believes that anyone in the same position would have done the same. “If my son was having the same thing going on, I would want somebody to help me out,” he said. Edlin also believes that being a hero is “not the word, I just happened to be there.”
Here is a WTVR news report on the incident:
Our congratulations to Captain Edlin for his quick thinking and action that likely saved this woman from more severe consequences, including the possibility of death.
This is why everyone who has been prescribed epinephrine should carry two doses with them at all times, and administer the first dose as soon as they suspect anaphylaxis. Epinephrine is the only medication that can halt and reverse the progression of anaphylaxis, but it must be given promptly after the onset of symptoms to achieve the best outcome.
One correction we must mention is that Mylan, the marketer of EpiPen brand auto-injectors, instructs users to “Hold firmly in place for 3 seconds (count slowly 1, 2, 3),” not a full minute as was done here.
