Western Bulldogs rush Tim Callan to hospital

Speedy recovery to Tim...

Western Bulldogs rush Tim Callan to hospital
The Herald Sun
Daryl Timms | March 25, 2009

WESTERN Bulldog Tim Callan was in hospital last night after an allergic reaction to nuts that caused him breathing difficulties. Callan, 25, suffered the reaction during a team lunch at former Bulldog player Paul Dimattina's Carlton restaurant.

Callan's airway immediately started to narrow as his neck swelled.

Teammates Matt Boyd and Daniel Cross raced to a nearby pharmacy to get some anti-histamines for Callan.

Captain Brad Johnson then drove Callan, who is aware of his allergy, to hospital.

He was expected to stay only a couple of hours but was kept in overnight for observation after doctors decided he needed more treatment.

He was placed back on an intravenous drip after his airways again began to close after the drip was removed.

Callan's teammates were stunned by the incident and had genuine fears for his well-being.

A food allergy can cause airways to close and also lead to potentially fatal anaphylactic shock.

Callan, expected to line up in Sunday's game against Fremantle at Subiaco, suffered a similar allergic reaction when the Bulldogs played in Darwin last year.

Dimattina said Callan went "white" after eating some pasta with pesto sauce, which contained pine nuts that weren't visible.

"He asked me about a minute later whether there were nuts in the sauce and I saw him go white," Dimattina said.

"It was pretty scary. I think he was kicking himself because he hadn't asked if the food had nuts in it. I knew he was in trouble straight away when he went pale. I just hopes he gets over it quickly and can dominate on Sunday."

It's understood Callan usually carries a special needle that contains a shot of epinephrine to treat his allergy in an emergency.

Western Bulldogs football manager James Fantasia said last night medical staff at the hospital would update club doctors this morning.

"Once he has got the all clear, it tends not to be an ongoing issue at all," he said. "At this point it time we are still thinking he'll be right to play."

Essendon players were also booked in for dinner last night at Dimattina's Lygon St restaurant.

Dimattina said he'd told his staff to ask each player whether they had any food allergies.

Scary stuff, hope he's right to play..

Eade spoke about this on sport 927 this morning. I trust he will be ok as Eade joked that even he knew that Pesto had pine nuts in it.
Therefore I have come up with a new nickname for Callan.......... "Pesto"

Tom Williams must be spewing. There's an injury he hadn't thought of.

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Originally Posted by Desipura

Eade spoke about this on sport 927 this morning. I trust he will be ok as Eade joked that even he knew that Pesto had pine nuts in it.
Therefore I have come up with a new nickname for Callan.......... "Pesto"

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or .....nuts!


keeps in the tradition of Rick Kennedy's nickname.
ie rude parts.

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Originally Posted by Sockeye Salmon

Tom Williams must be spewing. There's an injury he hadn't thought of.

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now now lets see what unfolds this year..............

My brother has the same allergy. Not very nice, and definitely very scary.

Tim must always remember to carry an epi-pen with him.

Last year it was a stingray, this year, pine nuts. The Dogs seem to be going out of their way to find novel strategies to get out of playing ...

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Originally Posted by Lantern

Last year it was a stingray, this year, pine nuts. The Dogs seem to be going out of their way to find novel strategies to get out of playing ...

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I can see Gilbs suffering a case of elephantitis at this rate. A bit like the Simpsons episode where all the big time baseballers (Ex. Darryl Strawberry) find a reason not to play.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sockeye Salmon

Tom Williams must be spewing. There's an injury he hadn't thought of.

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haha good one

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sockeye Salmon

Tom Williams must be spewing. There's an injury he hadn't thought of.

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Now he's vomiting is he? I thought it was Tim Callan who had the food poisoning.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sockeye Salmon

Tom Williams must be spewing. There's an injury he hadn't thought of.

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The only other illness I want Tommy to get is leather poisoning.