19-year-old Rene Amaya missed his high school graduation due to a near-fatal allergic reaction. Attending the ceremony was a big deal to him, especially since he was the first one in his family to complete this particular achievement. He was dressed and ready to go when a wasp attacked him on his way out the door and stung him on the bottom lip. Thankfully, his parents were with him at the time.
“It all just went down so quick,” Rene told CBS News Texas. “I got out the front door when I just saw a wasp go so fast to my bottom lip, bit me, stung me. I told my dad about it. We all know I’m allergic so my heart dropped.”
Instead of driving Rene to his Irving High School ceremony, his parents took him to Baylor Scott & White Irving Medical Center. The teen went into anaphylactic shock during the ride.
“Rene was very ill when he got here,” said Dr. Connie Swickhamer. “Very life-threatening. We only use epinephrine for things such as severe anaphylactic reaction or even like cardiac arrest.”
Thankfully, Rene recovered from his allergic reaction to the wasp sting. He even got to experience his high school graduation – granted, not in the way that he expected. Weeks after the incident, the hospital staff and the Irving High School faculty arranged a surprise ceremony for the student. It turns out that some of the nurses who had treated the teen felt so bad for him that they decided to take matters into their own hands.
“I went to Ashley and said, ‘Can we do something?’ and Ashley was like, ‘Come on, let’s go,'” said one of the staff members.
Purchasing decorations from the hospital gift shop, they were able to create a ceremony for Rene that was even more special than the one he missed. The grad was touched by their kindness!
“They’re awesome, they’re angels honestly,” said Rene.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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