A woman says she was dismissed by a Target worker during a medical emergency, sparking discussion in the comments of a now-viral TikTok.
In a video with over 56,000 views, Jules (@juliedarleneee) posts a video of herself in a hospital bed. She has an IV in one arm and a blood pressure cuff on the other.
She explains how she ended up in the hospital in on-screen text.
“I want to believe all people are good, but when I was in Target and went into anaphylactic shock yesterday, I ran to the Target employee for help, and she said she was busy and left me there to have my throat close up and stop breathing,” the text reads.
What is anaphylactic shock?
Anaphylactic shock is a life-threatening response to an allergic reaction. It can cause someone’s throat to close, heart rate to increase, and breathing to become difficult or impossible.
The allergic reaction can become life-threatening in minutes, per the Mayo Clinic. Immediate action must be taken to help the person experiencing anaphylaxis.
Jules notes that she’s “lucky” her fiancé was shopping with her and was able to call 9-1-1 instead of the Target worker. She urges Target to inform its workers about the urgency of medical emergencies, such as anaphylactic shock.
“Target, train your employees for emergency situations! I almost died!” she writes in the caption.
“It was my first time going into anaphylactic shock, and my fiancé was inside the car at first, which is why I ran to the employee and asked her to please call 911,” she clarifies in a comment. “By the time my fiancé realized something was wrong, I was already on the floor.”
She says she took a new antibiotic just minutes before entering the store, which caused the reaction.
How did viewers react?
While some commenters dismiss Jules’s concerns, claiming it’s not a retail worker’s job to handle a medical emergency, many argue that anyone should call 9-1-1 for a person in distress.
“If anyone, I mean anyone, ran up to me frantic and asked me to call 911 I absolutely would be on the phone ASAP because it’s common decency?” one writes.
“That’s awful. I’m sorry that happened to you. Those are some odd people,” another says.
“That employee calling 911 is the bare minimum to human decency in that situation,” a third adds.
Others say they’ve dealt with similar incidents with Target workers.
“There was a very young puppy locked in a hot car at target and the employee said call the police it’s not our problem. It’s literally their property,” a commenter says.
“I was at target with my 1.5 year old twins, and 8 months pregnant. Target employee accidentally spilled my water all over me and the floor then handed me a roll of paper towels and stood there while I tried to get down and clean it so no one slipped. Idk who raised these people,” another writes.
@juliedarleneee @target train your employees for emergency situations! i almost died! #anaphalacticshock ♬ remix from midnightcowboyxx – ?
The Mary Sue reached out to Jules and Target for further comment.
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