It was a warm, sunny September afternoon when seventh-grader Jake Klose stepped onto the football field for his first try at practice, on the first day of school at Half Hollow Hills School District in central Long Island. His physical education teacher, Michael Lupa, was there for his first day of coaching.

Just before they walked out to the field of grass, Klose handed his new coach his prescription auto-injector EpiPen, containing epinephrine for emergency treatment of allergic reactions, and asked him to put it in the medical kit.

That's what Candlewood Middle School nurse Linda Julia had told him to do that morning, when Klose walked into the nurse's office with only one injector. When he showed her the EpiPen prescribed for bee stings, she asked him "Are you in a sport?"

When he said yes, she said she told him "Give this to the coach. Make sure you watch him put it in his medical kit."

During the school day, she could treat Jake if necessary with some non-specific EpiPens she has in her office for emergencies.

But after school, she would no longer be on site. She would rather he took his antidote with him to practice, since he only had the one EpiPen.

Trained for emergencies

Julia herself has trained all the educators who volunteer to be responsible for using EpiPens in case of emergency.

"I have EpiPens all over the building," said Julia, who, like Lupa, is a member of the Half Hollow Hills Teachers Association. "The faculty are very knowledgeable."

These auto-injectors are used for emergency treatment of allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) for people with a history of an anaphylactic reaction. Common ones are bee stings, latex and nuts.

Coach Lupa put the EpiPen, enclosed in a bag with Jake's name on it, in the athletic medical kit, which looks a bit like a Tupperware fishing tackle box.

Then it was time to hit the dirt.

"It was a really nice day," Lupa said. "The kids were doing their warm-ups and their stretches."

Then they were out running in the field, two teams with 50 to 60 boys on each team. Klose was the one to get stung by a bee.

Lupa said the student ran over to the medical kit. The other coaches called out to Lupa.

Klose went to the ground.

"He lay down and said he was having trouble breathing," Lupa said. "His throat was going to close."

Coach uses EpiPen

Lupa injected the EpiPen into Klose's mid-thigh, then rubbed the area.

'''Oh my God' was going through my mind," he said.

Although he has been trained to use the EpiPen, Lupa said "It was the first time I actually had to use it on somebody."

Rescue services had been called, along with Klose's father, who checked Jake's throat and found it was opening back up.

"The parents were very grateful," said Lupa.

Jake brought his new coach a new EpiPen the very next day.

— Liza Frenette