I started to feel my throat close. I thought I was going to die.

It was April 3, 2017, and we were on a family vacation in Hawaii. We went to dinner at this really fancy restaurant. Our waiter was super funny and it was a great time until dessert.

My brother and I both have a severe peanut allergy, so we are always careful when we order desserts at restaurants. We asked the waiter if anything was safe, and at first they said no, but then they said they can make it without peanuts. We thought that would be fine, but we were very wrong. When it came, we took a bite and it tasted nutty. 

My dad said, “That’s peanuts.” 

At that moment I started to get a very sore throat. I did not know if it was really psychological, but I started to get very nervous. Panicking, we asked the waiter if the dish had any peanuts. They checked with the chef and said it was cornflakes. My dad did not believe them and literally had our waiter taste something off his own fork. They still had peanuts in the dish. 

I started to feel sicker and sicker. My mom and dad went to the baker’s face and asked if there were any peanuts in this dish, and did you bake the whole thing? She said yes, and there are no peanuts. My parents started to believe them and we went outside the restaurant. I honestly did not believe it when my parents said it was OK. And a few seconds later I threw up. That is when we knew they lied. My dad gave Casey and me both Epi pens and called 911. The ambulance took forever to get there, and my throat hurt very, very badly. When it finally arrived, my brother and I were rushed to the hospital. We were hooked up to a huge IV and got stickers all over us to check our oxygen levels. My brother was covered in hives. We were at the hospital for about four hours, and then they told us it was ok to leave.

This was the first time I had a really bad reaction. I became so much more careful with my allergy because I never want to experience that again. Now I will never eat desserts at restaurants even if they promise that there are no nuts. It just scares me so much. I also don’t like going to new restaurants and feel a little uncomfortable if they have peanuts on the menu.

I am very emotional with my peanut allergy, but it honestly comes down to if I am not comfortable, I will not eat it. Every time I eat, I fear something bad will happen.