Hello, I'm Nicole! A few people know me as Moxie, Snap, or Cinnamane!

I hate doing this, but I think I need some actual help to prevent my possible death in the future.

Last night (4/26), I experienced one of the most terrifying moments of my life. I went into anaphylactic shock, a severe allergic reaction triggered by something I ate. The problem is, I don't know what caused this reaction as the food I had that night were foods I've eaten many times before.

In terms of anaphylaxis stages, what I experienced was stage 3. Stage 4 is when death can occur.

My entire face, throat, and mouth swelled rapidly. I struggled to speak, stay conscious, and became extremely disoriented. The only thing that offered any relief was a Benadryl, which I took when I started feeling weird. It barely helped and took an hour for the symptoms to subside. Now after the fact, I should've gone to the hospital, but I was not in the right mind to make that decision.

Up until now, I've never had any known allergies, so I've never carried an Epi-pen. This is why I'm doing this GoFundMe. I'm scared the next thing I eat will kill me because I'm not aware of what I'm allergic to or what caused the reaction.

I am not employed currently since I am a full-time college student. My partner takes care of the bills, which doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for anything else. We have insurance, but it's pretty shitty when we actually need it. The amount I've put as the goal will help cover the cost of:

The Dr. Visit, which can cost $50+ just to see the Dr.

Food Allergy tests, which can range between $100 - $500

Cost of keeping at least one Epi-pen in the house for emergencies, which can range from $25 - $700

Whatever other expenses might come from this.

I'm not doing okay mentally with this, and I feel embarrassed asking for help from strangers, but I'm so scared of eating something and not having the necessary precautions to keep me safe.