A Maine mom made a big mistake when she chose to pick up a tiny green bug at a state park. It resulted in her almost dying.
"A berry green, [most] beautiful beetle I've ever seen. And I just picked him up and I said, 'Woah you're so pretty.' And within seconds, I felt burning through my body," Antoinette Webb told WABI 5 News.
That's when the Maine mom, who was visiting Fort Knox state park, realized she made a big mistake. Webb and her twins, Ella and Jonah, sought help at the park's gift shop. But by the time she made it, she collapsed. Friends of Fort Knox's Executive Director, Dean Martin came to her aid.
"It happened at the bottom of the hill. I made it to the top right here and that was it. That's all I remember," she said.
Martin began trying to treat Martin's allergy symptoms.
Maine Mom Almost Dies
"She's lying there and I'm holding her hand and I'm talking to 9-1-1 and I'm holding her. She passes out because of a constricted airway, she's got a lack of air. She's got blue lips," Martin told the local outlet. "We gave her Benadryl. That's the best we had. And then we waited for the ambulance crews."
Fortunately, medical crew arrived and ended up giving her four shots of epinephrine to save her life. It turns out the Maine mom has a severe allergy to the six-spotted tiger beetle. "The iridescent green is absolutely stunning," Martin told the outlet. "It's got six legs. It's non-venomous, but it's got these pinchers."
So she had an allergy that she couldn't have possibly known about.
"I was just bawling. Because of you, they have their mom today," Webb reportedly told him. "I just started crying, like right now. When I saw him, I immediately — I knew I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. They acted fast, they knew exactly what to do. I'm just so grateful, I'm just so grateful. If you guys come to Fort Knox, just know that you will be taken care of and your children will be taken care of."
