Singer helicoptered to hospital after bee sting
Kiwi singer Ladi6 has revealed details of the moment she ‘‘nearly died’’ after having an allergic reaction to a bee sting.
She was stung on Waitangi Day and helicoptered to hospital from Leigh.
‘‘I had a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting in Mathesons Bay up by Leigh yesterday at 7pm and nearly died, as my throat was closing and I was losing consciousness,’’ she said.
The singer, whose real name is Karoline Tamati, thanked the strangers, ambulance staff, Leigh Fire Service and Westpac Rescue Helicopter for saving her.
Recounting the experience on social media, she said her throat quickly began to swell only moments after being stung by ‘‘a regular honeybee’’. Her family had to hold her down, she said. Her son Philli Park Tamati and other members of her family were there when she was stung. ‘‘[I’m] feeling extremely grateful, contemplative & alive,’’ she wrote later.
‘‘Literally I was swollen with itchy hives all over my body, my face and throat were swelling shut,’’ she said.
Only hours after her scare, Tamati said she was fine. ‘‘Quick thinking from a combo of people who I love and love me, and complete strangers saved my life,’’ she said.
The Ministry of Health advised anyone stung by a bee who showed signs of swelling around the lips and eyes or red streaks leading away from the sting to call 111. While the stings could be painful, it said only some people would suffer like Ladi6 did. Shortness of breath, chest tightness and severe dizziness were also signs of anaphylaxis, the technical name for an allergic reaction to a sting, the ministry said.