CHLOE KOWALYK
News Editor
It was quite possibly one of the worst allergic reactions I’ve had in my life. In fact, it was the first time an allergic reaction ever sent me to seek medical attention.
On Tuesday, Feb. 23, I ordered a vegan (emphasis on vegan) chocolate chip cookie from McEwen Café, located in McEwen Hall at SUNY Fredonia. I ordered my cookie in the morning, before my 11:20 a.m. class. I then went to class and enjoyed the tasty treat when I got out.
Getting vegan options has always been a safe choice for me. I’m allergic to milk, egg and shellfish, so ordering something I know to be free of any animal products was always a good choice. That being said, I was very excited to learn that after the vegan-friendly Sprout Café closed, vegan options were moved to the other cafés on campus. I would finally have some new and different options of meals and snacks to eat throughout the day, while still using my meal plan. This wasn’t the first time I got a vegan chocolate cookie from McEwen Café either. In fact, I used to get them multiple times a week with no prior reactions.
I only got about halfway through the giant cookie before my throat started to feel scratchy and panic set in. I immediately went to my bag and grabbed my Benadryl, a common antihistamine used to lessen the effects of allergic reactions. I frantically popped two small pink pills out of their silver casings. Typically, I only take one if my allergic reaction wasn’t as severe.
However, this time was different. I had another class in 20 minutes, and I did not want to risk having to leave class just because I was given the wrong cookie earlier that morning. Feeling a little sick, I went to class nonetheless. We had guest speakers that day, and questions on our upcoming midterm would be taken from their speeches. I didn’t want to risk dooring poorly on an exam just because I was given the wrong order.
However, about 15 minutes into class, I felt extremely sick, and things were getting significantly worse. I began to shake, I was confident I was about to throw up, in front of the entire class. I held off as long as I could, doing anything to distract myself enough to try to get the severe stomach pains and aggressive shaking off of my mind and to focus on the speakers in front of me.
Suddenly, it got unbearable. I was so nauseous, I couldn’t even keep my head up. My hands were shaking so bad, my notes were nothing more than scribbles on a page. My voice shook as I was only able to squeak out the words “I’m really sorry, but I just don’t feel well at all.” I trudged to the closest bathroom, closed and locked the door.
I fell to the floor, and lifted my head over the toilet in front of me. I gagged a few times, but nothing came out. I actually wanted it to happen. I wanted to purge my body of the thing that was making it so sick— a supposedly vegan chocolate chip cookie.
I texted my boyfriend what was going on, and he, who luckily had his class that was also at 1 p.m. got canceled, was able to drive over to me and bring me some Pepto Bismol. The five minutes it took him to get there felt like an eternity. Chills started to form up and down my spine, and I was shivering. My stomach hurt so bad, and I could barely even pull myself off of the bathroom floor.
My boyfriend’s knocking on the bathroom door barely brought me to my feet as I croaked “Who is it?” I desperately forced myself to get up and open the door, and I took a swig of the pink medicine as quickly as I could, hoping to relieve my terrible stomach pains.
However, my stomach twisted and turned itself in knots and I decided to call my mom. Being 65 miles away, she was incredibly worried about her sick daughter. My boyfriend, still standing next to me in the bathroom, rubbed my back to try to ease my pain.
My mother suggested that we go to Wellnow Urgent Care in town, and that I should go to Brooks Memorial Hospital if things got even worse. Agreeing, my boyfriend walked over to my classroom and a friend helped him get my stuff together. He pulled my professor aside to update him on the situation, and my professor was very understanding.
Walking through the pouring rain, I held my stomach and hunched over until we got to my boyfriend’s truck. In the passenger seat, I crossed my legs and curled up until we made it to Wellnow.
We waited at the front desk for just a few minutes until someone checked us in, and asked me what had happened. The words fell out of my mouth as I described my intense shaking, stomach pains and chills. We waited for a nurse for a few more minutes.
When it was finally my turn, I went alone to the waiting room. The nurse took my temperature and tried to get a reading on my heartbeat on two different fingers, but with not much luck. After the finicky machine finally got my heartbeat, my heart rate was higher than normal. I was terrified.
Not much longer after, the doctor came and asked me to explain my symptoms again. I explained that the vegan cookie wasn’t actually vegan. I described how I desperately opened my bag to get my Benadryl. I described the unbearable stomach pains and shaking and how freezing cold I was.
The doctor explained to me that I would likely need a steroid shot to help calm my body down, and that the Benadryl had made my body hyper. However, the Benadryl kept my throat from closing up and my body from entering anaphylactic shock. In fact, had I eaten more than half of that cookie, I likely would have gone into anaphylactic shock. I cannot fathom how sick I would be had I eaten just a little bit more of that cookie.
After I was administered the steroid shot from yet another nurse, I was sent on my way. On our way back to campus, my boyfriend stopped at the store to buy me more Pepto Bismol to help aid my stomach pains. During the ride, my shaking had subsided, but my stomach ache had not. He brought me to his townhouse, and had me lay in bed there, where he could keep an eye on me. I found myself getting up and running to the bathroom several times, thinking I just might get sick, but with no success. I called my mom again and updated her on the situation. She was relieved I was better, but was absolutely outraged that I ended up in this situation.
After writing three pieces on the several issues other students have been facing with FSA — moldy and undercooked food, food poisoning, and even another instance of a different student having an allergic reaction and ending up in the emergency room — I thought things would improve.
And yet, this is still happening. I’ve seen the efforts FSA has made to try to improve the quality of food on campus. I’ve seen the filtering options at the Willy C’s kiosks to organize by vegetarian and vegan. I’ve seen the nutritional and allergen information books around dining halls on campus. The inclusion of allergen information online has been incredibly helpful.
However, I still got extremely sick and needed medical care. Who knows how many other students have had these issues but haven’t reported them?
I spent the next few hours in my boyfriend’s bed, hidden in the covers, just trying to stay warm. I tuned into my 4 p.m. class on Zoom, which was luckily with the same professor as earlier. He got me all set up so I wouldn’t fall too far behind in class.
Eventually, after class, I felt well enough to have my boyfriend take me back to my dorm. I was so hungry. All I had eaten that day was a bagel and that dreaded chocolate chip cookie. I ate some warm soup with crackers to attempt to ease my stomach. I was able to get some food down, but I was absolutely exhausted. My body was weak. I went to bed extremely early that night, hoping I’d feel better in the morning. The next day, my stomach was certainly still sore, likely because of the intense cramping it had felt the day before, but I felt better than the day before. I had one instance that next day of severe stomach pain and frequent runs to the bathroom, and overall exhaustion, but overall, my symptoms have subsided.
I’m not asking for pity from my story, but I am asking FSA to please do something to avoid these instances in the future. Whether it was a mislabeling issue, a simple mistake or something else, these mistakes can cost students their lives.
I shared my concerns with both Dean Messina and Darrin Schulz. The email was likely not received by Schulz as I received a bump back from his email address explaining that he would be out of office until Feb. 28.
However, Messina responded and sent me a list of ingredients in the chocolate chip cookie, as well as offered me an FSA gift card to compensate for the price of the cookie.
He also noted that “FSA does not maintain any dedicated allergen-free facilities. Please be aware that we handle and prepare egg, milk, wheat, shellfish, fish, soy, peanut, tree nut products and other potential allergens in all of our cafes, dining facilities and food production facilities.”
Messina also mentioned that FSA follows all New York State and Chautauqua County Department of Health guidelines.
Whatever the instance was, be it cross-contamination or a simple mix-up, I would like it to be known that dietary choices aren’t always a choice.
With students in their first and second years living on campus and being required to have a meal plan, students should be able to expect food that is safe for them to eat. Something further needs to be done to address these concerns, and we, the students, are waiting.