Yesterday we told you the story of Dillon Mueller, who died from an allergic reaction to a bee sting.
Today, in part two of our series, we are going to look into what his parents have done to save numerous lives in Wisconsin in the aftermath of that 2014 tragedy.
Angel and George Mueller watched their son die from an allergic reaction and quickly learned how difficult it is for the average Joe to get an epinephrine auto-injector for their own first aid kit.
The Muellers were the keynote speakers at an event with the Wisconsin Lions Eye Bank, where they met someone who would give them the compass needed to inspire real change.
“Dr. Len Markman says, ‘Early in my practice, I had a young fellow almost die from anaphylaxis. It could have been the same scenario as what happened to your son.’ He was very moved by this story,” Angel told Seehafer News. “He said ‘all throughout my practice, I always had it in my mind as a dream to do something about this. To make epinephrine more available to John Q. Public.’”
So, Dr. Markman took a look at a bill making its way through the legislature, which said that businesses could carry epinephrine autoinjectors, but the wording wasn’t great.
“In the [bill] it [said] ‘Any business or event where an allergen may be present’,” Angel explained. “Which, if you think about that, is everywhere. Daycares, campgrounds, amusement parks, the county fair, everywhere.”
He and the Muellers determined that the best way to approach the change is by adding two simple words, trained individuals.
Angel and George happened to meet Senator Andre Jacque at an event where they were speaking, and realized he was one of the co-sponsors of that bill.
She asked Sen. Jacque to add the words “trained individuals” to the bill alongside business.
“A little while later he gives me a phone call and he says ‘I’m going to introduce this legislation with the two little words ‘trained individual’ added to it. I’m going to call it Dillon’s Law,’” Angel recalled. “I was floored. Right there in the card aisle in Walgreens, I’ve got tears running down my face.”
That bill eventually was made into law, and since then two more iterations of Dillon’s Law have been implemented.
Dillons Law 2.0 expanded the ability for people to get and use epinephrine auto-injectors, and 3.0 made it so pharmacists can give these life-saving tools to individuals who have completed a training course.
However, the Muellers aren’t done yet.
In part 3 where we go into their push to get a version of Dillon’s Law passed at the federal level.
