A heroic pharmacist helped to save a woman's life with a quick-thinking Epipen intervention to stop a potentially fatal allergic reaction.
Clodagh Victory was hailed by her employer Remedi Pharmacy in Dublin's IFSC after a woman burst into the shop on Wednesday suffering with swollen lips, a swollen throat and breathing difficulties.
Calm Clodagh, who was on duty at the time, administered the life-saving dose after swiftly snapping into action.
The Trinity College graduate was only just back from Australia, and had very recently started her new job at Custom House Square.
She was dispensing prescriptions in the back of the shop on Wednesday when a lady entered the shop asking for an antihistamine.
"I tend to always keep an eye on what’s going on in the front of shop," she told Dublin Live.
"I noticed a girl asking for Piriton but she sounded quite stressed.
"I went out to ask if everything was okay and she seemed in panic.
"She told me she had a peanut allergy and had eaten a piece of cake that had some in it.
"I asked her to take off her mask. Her lips and throat were swollen and she presented with difficulty breathing."
Clodagh got her manager Aneta to quickly ring for an ambulance and let them know was an anaphylactic emergency.
Remaining cool, she then brought the panicked woman in and gave her the crucial injection.
"I brought the young lady into the consultation room and gave her the Epipen, reassuring her everything was going to be okay," she recalls.
"She was in extreme shock and panic at this stage.
"She reacted well to the first dose and her breathing began to improve."
The ambulance arrived around fifteen minutes later, where paramedics gave the woman IV steroids and transferred her to hospital.
Grateful ambulance staff returned to the shop a half an hour later to personally congratulate Clodagh, and the other staff members, informing them that they likely saved the woman's life.
And thankfully, the woman was able to recover, and got in touch with the pharmacy the next day to give her thanks.
"It was a complete team effort between all the staff," Clodagh said.
"Everyone remained calm and followed all the correct procedures.
"The young lady contacted us the following morning to let us know that she is back home and doing well."
The reality of the situation really didn't sink in for Clodagh initially, who just went back about her business after all the fuss was over.
However, she was touched and thankful for all the positive messages she and the pharmacy have received in the days since their intervention.
"A pharmacist can be a demanding and high pressure job at the best of times," she said.
"I went back to filling the prescriptions for the rest of the patients waiting in the pharmacy and didn’t really get a chance to absorb what had happened until I went home that evening.
"It was only then that I realised that I had saved someone's life by acting so fast in the situation, staying calm, and following the procedures!"
"I’m delighted with all the messages I’ve received, and I'd like to give a special thank you to Aneta, John and all the staff at Remedi for welcoming me into their lovely team.
"It is a bit overwhelming to see all the positive messages out there."
