Describing the moment she began to go into anaphylaxis, Ms Penny said: “My mouth started to feel really tingly, my throat started to close up.
“I was starting to see dots, I felt very lightheaded and then I started to lose consciousness. It was just terrifying.”
It was as she began to black out that the school’s deputy director of finance resources Ed Carpenter, who is also trained in first aid, arrived on the scene.
“I was quite concerned for her wellbeing but I immediately knew it was an anaphylactic shock and what steps we should take to assist her,” he said.
The reaction to the use of the emergency adrenaline pen was “almost instant”, Ms Penny said.
“It’s more scary that not everywhere has these adrenaline pens,” she added.