Another memory from Hong Kong

When I was three and Steve was four, we were playing one morning in front of the neighboring apartment complex, which had, as I recall, various bushes growing in front of it. We were exploring these bushes, and came to one which had what looked to me like tiny carrots growing on it. I thought it was a "carrot tree." In reality, these "carrots" were red peppers of some sort.

We each plucked a "carrot" from the bush and I tried to eat mine. I never got any further than just popping it into my mouth before I had a serious allergic reaction. I don't remember anything else until I was in the hospital emergency room, but here is what I've been told:

As soon as I put the pepper into my mouth, my esophagus began to swell shut. My throat swelled shut, and I couldn't breathe. My entire body turned bright red, with white streaks shooting down my skin. Even at just four years old, Steve could tell something was seriously wrong, so he ran home and fetched my parents, who immediately put me in the car and sped off to the hospital.

I am not sure what all was done to me at the hospital; the only thing I remember is sitting on a stainless steel table and being forced to drink a white, milky liquid that tasted sort of sweet. In any event, the allergic reaction was stopped, and I was fine. Steve had saved my life by running to get help as quickly as he did.

To this day, I cannot eat or even touch a raw pepper -- if I so much as touch one, I get hives all the way up my arm.