NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa. — A seemingly healthy North Huntingdon woman had a near-death allergic reaction to medication her doctor had prescribed.
"The last thing I remember was being down on the floor and him holding my hand, and I told him I'm dying," said Kristen Burnett. "I said, 'Please, I'm all my son has. Please don't let me die.'"
Three weeks ago, Burnett stopped breathing and woke up in an ambulance surrounded by paramedics and nurses from North Huntingdon Township EMS, working frantically to counteract the reaction.
"We got there, she was not doing so well, her saturation was extremely low and she wasn't improving," said Robbie Devich, one of the paramedics there that day.
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"It was the worst allergic reaction of my 32 years of EMS," said John Tirpak, a supervisor.
"John, the one paramedic, he prayed with me, and another one held my hand the whole way to the hospital," Burnett said.
Monday, she thanked the people who saved her life at a gas station on Route 30.
"I was able to go and see my son graduate preschool and be with him and it was wonderful," Burnett said.
"And she said, 'Because of you guys I was able to do this,'" Tirpak said. "I was overwhelmed with emotion and all I could do was put my arms around her and hug her and say, 'I'm glad you're okay.'"
Burnett told Channel 11 doctors told her the chance of this type of reaction is only 1 in 100,000.
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