Her Allergy is Real
I had a repeat patient as a medic who would always call for a severe allergic reaction to shellfish every other month or so. She always had an allergy and I knew her reactions were getting worse. But she finally told me the truth and what she told me made my jaw drop.
She told us that she comes from a patriarchal culture and her father always made this amazing seafood soup. If she didn’t eat it and “force her body not to reject his gift to the family,” she would lose her car, phone, or whatever punishment her father deemed necessary.
We pleaded with her to do whatever it took to show him it was deadly. Fast forward a few years. She was back at the hospital. The doctor performed a tracheotomy and she went to the ICU. It took a week for her to recover and her father “finally got it” that her allergy was a medical condition. MonsterHunterRelias