HOUSTON – All it took was a couple of bites of a macaroon for one Westbrook Intermediate School student to meet some of the members of the Houston Fire Department.
Kenyan Bernard, 12, was reunited Monday with the men and women who helped save his life.
"You see, on Thursday during first period," Kenyan said, “I had a project for social studies and we brought different foods and one of the foods had some kind of nut that I was allergic to but I didn’t know. Afterward, I had a little itch in my throat and I just decided to get water.”
About 45 minutes later he still hadn’t realized he was having an allergic reaction and tried to go to the nurse.
He nearly collapsed in the hallway, where he was found by one of his teachers.
“His teacher, the one that found him in the hallway, came and told me that I was needed in the nurse’s office,” said Kenyan's mother, Keonsha Bernard, who happens to work at the school. “We got his shirt off and I saw hives along his shoulder blade.”
That’s when they realized it was an allergic reaction and administered an EpiPen.
Shortly after, paramedics arrived and took Kenyan to the hospital, but the danger was not over.
“He got to the table. During the intubation, he coded. From what they told me, two minutes of chest compressions and he was back,” said Keonsha.
Then more complications arose, leaving Kenyan alive but unresponsive.
“We didn’t get a sign from him of life until Sunday,” said Keonsha.
Eleven days later, he was released, after an experience he and family will never forget.
“Just to think about my little sister and how she would have had to live without me. She’s only 7 years old,” said Kenyan.
“You never know how different the next minute can be, and it’s not even the next minute, the next second,” said Keonsha.
Thanks to the quick actions of all those involved, Kenyan will get to celebrate his 13th birthday on Wednesday.
Beyond that, he’s most looking forward to his family’s summer vacation together.