From yum woon sen to anaphylaxis, or Why am I so Damn Tired Right Now?→[More:]

On Monday night, I dined Thai with a buddy of mine; I enjoyed summer rolls and fish cakes while he tried the yum woon sen. We went afterwards to a farewell party for another friend who's moving to gay Paree today.

About an hour and a half after we ate, my buddy announced that he was going home, since he felt terrible. He's prone to migraines, often after eating vinegary things, so we were all concerned, but not too much, since it's happened before and everything's turned out fine.

Yesterday at about noon my buddy called me at work to say he'd gone home to difficulty breathing, throat swelling, and vomiting; a couple times he said he had vomit caught in his swollen throat and found himself unable to breathe at all for fifteen seconds or so. This eventually passed (he's used to suffering through migraines, after all) and he managed to sleep some, though he told me he thought he might die while he was choking on his vomit.

He was pretty breezy about the whole thing, but as we spoke I could hear how constricted his throat still was, and how scared he still was, and decided I should go give him a hand.

So I left work early yesterday, picked up some benadryl capsules, gatorade, and chicken soup on the way over, and got him into shape to go see his doctor, who took some tests and told him he was lucky and prescribed an epinephrine pen for when it happens again before referring him to a dietician. Then we went to the restaurant and persuaded them to give us a list of ingredients (they were so concerned; they wanted to give him his money back) which he faxed to his doctor to help narrow down the food allergen.

Yesterday was an important day at work, too, and I had a lot to do, but, like I told my boss, I'd rather miss work today than my friend for the rest of my life.

Man, I'm tired.