anaphylaxis
they say if you are allergic to aspirin, you might also be sensitive to ibuprofen, naproxen, others.
they don't tell you this in the 80s when my mother first experiences anaphylactic shock, or even now when i tell the doctor no aspirin because my mother is allergic.
he gives me ibuprofen instead.
i take it, still unaware – luckily, nothing happens.
but years later, my mother needs symptom relief and we shouldn't share old prescriptions but we do – and without reading the fine print: “do not take if allergic to aspirin or ibuprofen.” and “do not take if asthmatic.”
her nose keeps running and now her left eye swells into a golf ball and we are almost out of antihistamines. almost. she takes a weak one, then a stronger one. my father comments the doctors would scold us.
calmly, i search the internet for information. i message the pharmacist for a refill. i check the fastest route to the nearest A&E. i move upstairs in case my mother calls for me -
or if she stops breathing, that i can somehow hear that too.