Three words saved the life of woman struck down by anaphylaxis while driving

A woman has shared how the what3words app saved her life as she had an anaphylactic reaction while driving over a busy bridge.

Suffering with idiopathic anaphylaxis – meaning she can experience severe and potentially life-threatening reactions to triggers – electrical engineer Madi Bond, 24, felt an episode coming on as she drove past roadworks on July 7.

Returning home to Taunton, Somerset, where she lives with her boyfriend, Dan Cooper, 24, after visiting relatives in Cornwall, she was crossing the Tamar Bridge when her symptoms started.

Madi, who often does not know her triggers and has experienced 23 anaphylactic reactions in two years, said: ‘I remember seeing roadworks and, even though my windows were up, there was a chemical smell.

‘I don’t know if they’d used paint stripper and there was a trigger in that, if it was the Tarmac, or what it was, but suddenly, I couldn’t smell anything anymore, as my nasal passages were clogged.

‘I remember thinking, “I’ve got to get off this bridge, I know I’m going to have a reaction and I just hope it’s not a bad one”.’

Managing to cross the bridge, Madi pulled into a layby she knew a third of a mile down the road and called her parents.

‘I said, “Mum, I need you to come and get me. I can’t drive anymore. I’m not going to be ok for much longer.”

‘Then I phoned my sister who said, “Madi, you’re not actually answering questions now. You aren’t making any sense. You’re by yourself. You need your EpiPen now”.’

Grabbing her EpiPen, used to inject adrenalin, which can be a lifesaver for people with anaphylaxis, she then rang 999.

But when she tried to describe her location, feeling dizzy and wheezing as her breathing began to fail, she knew she was on the A38 going towards Plymouth, but was struggling to concentrate, let alone give the ambulance controller a precise location.

She said: ‘That was when the controller asked if I had the what3words app on my phone – which I did.’

Dividing the world into a grid of three-metre squares, on the app, each square is given a unique three word address and, by opening it and clicking a blue arrow, she was able to give the operator the three words which were translated using GPS to reveal her location.

Madi credits with the app for saving her life, and is urging others to consider downloading it to help them in unforeseen situations.

As triggers for her anaphylaxis can be broad (including stress, exercise, oranges, milk, the opiate painkiller Oramorph, anti-inflammatory medication, alcohol and tomatoes), Madi says she downloaded the app a few years back just in case.

She said: ‘I’ve had the app downloaded for years, as I walk a lot with my dogs on the moors, so it seemed like a good idea in case I had a reaction.

‘I think I saw a campaign when it was first released and downloaded it then…

‘Luckily, the incident on July 7 is the only time I have ever started to react when I was driving.

‘I have driven since – it only took me around a week to recover and get back behind the wheel. I won’t let it knock my confidence.

‘I am just so glad I had the app and would recommend everyone to get it.

‘If the ambulance hadn’t found me so quickly, I really don’t know what would have happened.’

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