Wegmans Pharmacy Staff Saves Woman In Anaphylactic Shock

SHREWSBURY (CBS) - A Shrewsbury woman is thankful the staff at the Wegmans in Northboro helped save her life Monday morning.

"I can't even express how thankful I am. Like I said, I was having trouble breathing," said Kathy Musiak.

Musiak was sharing some fruit with her 4-year-old son at the store's café when her mouth went numb. She's had strawberries, kiwis and grapes plenty of times before, but this time something was different.

"I know anaphylactic is a serious thing, and I don't know if I'd even be here if it wasn't for them," said Musiak.

The pharmacist on duty recognized her allergic reaction and gave her an EpiPen. Other staff at the pharmacy also jumped in to help.

"She had her son with her, so I was just trying to keep him calm, just remain calm the entire time," said Wegmans pharmacist technician Marissa Austin.

"We kind of just watched over her son while dad was on his way and followed up later on in the day to make sure she was okay," said Wegmans pharmacist Marissa Chisdock.

Musiak spent some time Monday in the emergency room at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. The doctor told her to get her own EpiPen as soon as possible, so back she went to Wegmans. Waiting for her with her prescription was a bouquet of flowers from the pharmacy.

"It was so sweet I definitely wasn't expecting that so it made a bad day a little bit better," said Musiak.

She plans to see an allergist to find out which of the fruits caused her allergic reaction.