Within minutes the teen was home; it was about 6:30 that evening, and he was doubled over and turning black and blue, his mother said. "I can't breathe, I can't breathe," he had said. He hadn't unpacked yet so his mom couldn't find his Epi-Pen -- an epinephrine autoinjector. She had one in her cupboard but it had expired two months earlier. First responders told her over the phone that she shouldn't use it.
A fire chief who lived next door brought over an Epi-Pen, which was administered to the teen. (Later, his doctor told his mother she could have used the expired pen, but couldn't say whether it would have helped him.)
