Sheldon Kaplan

A hero can be anyone, from a neighbor to a firefighter. They can be looked up to. Heroes don't need to fight bad guys, or be billionaires, they have to be brave and persevere. You need to respect them, so they can pretty much be anybody that is a good person in the community and helps other people. A hero should/be: 1. Brave 2. Have perseverance 3. A person that helps others 4. Kind 5. Stand up for what they think is right. My hero is Shel Kaplan- the inventor of Epi-Pens.

The epiPen is a device that uses a dose of medicine when put into the persons thigh after an allergic reaction. Shel Kaplan, a former NASA engineer, made the EpiPen while being in Maryland. Although his name is one of four on the EpiPen, he did not own it and never received royalties on the product. Kaplan passed away in 2009 at age 70. Sheldon Kaplan is an engineer who invented the EpiPen, but died at home on Monday, Sept. 21 after lost battle with cancer. During his 40 year career, Shel made many life saving products that are used by doctors in hospitals worldwide. One is the famous EpiPen, which is carried by millions of people around the world to treat allergic reactions in emergency situations. Shel was born in Everett, Maine, and graduated at Northeastern University in 1962. Shel used a lot of hard work and perseverance, and it took him many years to even patent the device! Shel was also very smart because he was the only one in the whole world who thought of this treatment and had the determination to make it, but most of all, he is kind. He helps millions of people a day with his invention. One of them was me. 

When I was 2 ½ years old, my mom and I went over for a playdate with one of her mom friends. There were many snacks at the party, and some of them were peanut butter filled pretzels. My mom/dad knew nothing about my allergy then, after all I was their first child. I ate a pretzel and I immediately knew something was wrong. My face got all swelled up and I got hives all over. My eyes got all itchy and it was hard to breathe. I called her over and she flipped out. I was her first child and she had never even heard about peanut allergies, so she was a total mess. Lucky for me, there was a local hospital only a couple minutes away, so my mom slammed me in the car and we drove off. When we got to the hospital, the doctors rushed around quickly. They told my mom that I was having an allergic reaction. They took out the epi shot and gave it to me. I felt better after that. That day, the epipen saved my life, but it wasn't the last time I would be seeing it. . . When i was seven years old, my grandma came over or a few days. one day she made a meal for us with many spices. I took a bite because I was famished, but something tasted different. My throat got all closed and I got hives and itchy eyes. My mom knew that I was having an allergic reaction and we were ready. She took out the EpiPen and stabbed me with it like she read in the peanut manual. At that point in my life, I had two brothers at the age of 1 and 4. The older brother screamed and yelled, so my dad had to handle them. Once again, the EpiPen saved my life, and that is why Shel Kaplan is my hero.

Thank you for reading my story and I hope you remember the amazing man, Sheldon Kaplan.