A New Hampshire man die last week a few days after he was stung by a yellow jacket.
He was allergic and went into anaphylaxis.
Now, his family is speaking out, hoping that the story of what happened to Brian Baker Jr. will help save lives.
Fun. Heart of gold. Always had good intentions.
Those are just some of the words you’ll hear when you ask people to describe Brian Baker Jr.
“He would do anything for anyone,” said Mandi Baker, Brian’s wife.
Last Saturday, the 34-year-old was doing some electrical work outside on his deck when he was stung twice by a yellow jacket.
He is allergic, so Brian’s wife jumped into action, administering an Epipen as she dialed 911.
“I had him cooling with wet towels, and I believe he started to stop breathing before the ambulance was even there,” Mandi said.
“Rescue personnel really went — everything to keep Brian with us and to give him a chance. They performed CPR on him for 40 to 45 minutes just to give him that chance,” Brian Baker Sr., Brian Jr.’s father, said.
Brian would eventually end up in the ICU at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester.
He died on Wednesday from injuries related to his reaction.
Brian recently found out of his current allergy just two years ago, and experts say that can often be the case.
“If they have any kind of reaction distant from the sting site, such has hives or the same kind of symptoms previously described — tightness, problems breathing, those kinds of symptoms — they should see an allergist and have testing done,” said Dr. Marie-Helene Sajous with Dartmouth Medical Center.