“I looked at my husband and he said ‘do we panic do we panic, you tell me when we panic’. Then Sailor was like ‘mum do we panic!?’
“Inside it took me straight back. I’ve had lots of counselling, but it was that underlying thought where you feel like you’re playing with life and death.”
Two weeks ago Chezzi Denyer, 39, watched on as her eldest daughter Sailor, seven, had a severe allergic reaction and she was immediately brought back to the moment she nearly lost her own life from anaphylaxis shock.
Her experience when she was aged 32, was so bad it had her mouthing to her husband – TV presenter and 2DAY FM radio host Grant Denyer; “tell Sailor I love her” as she vomited and struggled to breathe.
Side note: Having allergies is easier when we help others who have them. Post continues after video.
“They said at the hospital if I had arrived five minutes later, I wouldn’t have survived,” Chezzi told Mamamia.
“It caused me a lot of grief. I received counselling for post traumatic stress disorder. I thought I was gone,” she added.
After extensive tests the reason for Chezzi’s severe reaction was uncovered. She’d always had allergies, but nothing to overly worry about.
But a combination of unknowingly ingesting cat hair from the carpet of her home [ from the previous owners] and sleeping with a wattle tree she was allergic to outside her window – Chezzi didn’t realise she was in the process of creating a perfect storm.
A glass of red wine that night for dinner was the final straw for Chezzi’s immune system. She had an immediate reaction that saw her on the floor unable to breathe.
Sailor was 18 months old at the time of Chezzi’s attack, but it wasn’t until Sailor was about four that her allergies presented themselves.
"She wanted some of Grant's paleo cereal and she had a moderate reaction to cashew. Her face swelled up, she had puffy eyes and hives on her lips.
"We went and got her tested, she had an allergy to cashews and a slight allergy to pistachios. We've managed it well [since then]. Or so I thought. We hadn't taken her back to have it checked, which was a mistake," explained Chezzi.
Sailor was eating breakfast at a hotel buffet recently, when she started to get a reaction.
"It didn't make sense, she was just eating some watermelon. Within half an hour she said 'my throat feels weird I can't swallow properly.' I turned around and she had hives on her lips. I didn't have anything [medicine] to give her," said Chezzi.
The family rushed to a pharmacy after managing to get a script over the phone from a doctor, and were able to treat Sailor immediately with steroids and a double dose of antihistamines.
"We took her back to the allergists, and her histamine levels were out of control. They were all elevated, which I guess partly we now know, is because she is allergic to two particular grasses around our house. So that made the perfect storm for her. She's now also allergic to peanuts, avocado, and oranges which she wasn't before," said Chezzi.
Dr Preeti Joshi is a paediatric allergist and explained to Mamamia that allergies can develop in some people over time.
"It's not as cut and dry as some of the other diseases we might be treating where it's a standard protocol [to treat it].
"It's such an individual thing. You can have a relatively mild reaction one day, and then on another day you could have a worse reaction. There are so many different variables that can dictate that.
"If you've had a virus that can heighten your immune system. If you've had certain things like alcohol - that can worsen the speed of your reaction. If you've been exercising and are then exposed, that might heighten it," said Dr Joshi.
Dr Joshi also explained that someone might not be allergic to for example egg baked into muffin, but they might be allergic to raw egg or plain egg.
"There are so many variables, and the variables can change," she said.
Sailor now carries an epipen which she has been learning how to use over the past few days. She'll have to keep one at home and one at school from now on.
Chezzi hopes that by sharing their story, it will encourage other families to be aware of the risks.
"There are so many people with allergies, and people like me who didn't have it badly until 32, and all of a sudden nearly dying. It's scary. I urge any parent if they have any worries or any inkling to get it checked out," Chezzi told Mamamia.
Dr Joshi says while the skin prick test is important, it's not the only thing they go by. She gave Mamamia this advice should anyone be wondering how often you might need to 'check' your allergies.
"It depends on the age, the allergy they have and any other problems present. If you have a teenager who has an established peanut allergy you might only need to go back every 1-2 years.
"If you have a little baby or a child and things are changing quite rapidly we know the majority of younger kids can grow out of allergies - so that might be more of a six months to one year kind of check in," she advised.