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Virginia Woman Credits CVS Staff With Saving Her Life

November 25, 2024

Today's good news story comes from Fairfax County, Virginia.

A Virginia woman is calling her survival a miracle and is expressing heartfelt gratitude to the staff at a CVS in Burke who sprang into action during her life-threatening allergic reaction.

Sangita (left) and Brooke (right) / DCNewsNow.com

Brooke Fulham had just picked up her son’s prescription Monday morning when she began experiencing symptoms of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction she suspects was triggered by an allergy vaccine administered earlier at another location.

“I remember gasping for air, laying on the ground,” Fulham recounted, wiping tears from her eyes as she relived the terrifying moment.

Fulham said she noticed her face swelling and her eyes almost shut as she sat in her car. Struggling to breathe or swallow, she knew she needed immediate help. Grabbing her EpiPen, she ran back into the pharmacy, where CVS employees Sangita Sah and Emily Bui quickly stepped in.

The staff administered Fulham’s EpiPen and stayed by her side as she passed out on the floor, monitoring her condition and ensuring emergency services were contacted.

“I was not panicked,” Sah told Fulham afterward. “I think the timing was good that you came [inside].”

For Fulham, the response was more than just good timing—it was lifesaving.

“All I thought was, ‘If I don’t get somewhere where there’s a lot of people, no one is going to know what’s happening. Nobody is going to understand. I don’t want to die in my car, I don’t want to die in the street,’” she told DC News Now.

On Tuesday, Fulham returned to thank Sah and Bui for saving her life. While Sah humbly remarked that helping others is simply part of her job, Fulham insisted their actions went above and beyond.