Deckhand Cooper Dawson unexpectedly found himself coughing, breaking out in hives, and even vomiting after consuming a protein ball from the galley during Below Deck Mediterranean Season 11, Episode 7. Then, the Charleston, South Carolina native revealed to producers: “I’m highly allergic to peanuts.”
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“I can already feel a lump in my throat starting to form,” he shared during Below Deck Med’s July 20 episode. “I do carry an EpiPen most of the time, but a Benadryl usually takes care of it.”
As he decided to press on with his deck duties, he shared, “I’m new to the industry. The last thing I want to be is a liability. I just need to keep working.”
But when bosun Nathan Gallagher and lead deckhand Joe Bradley noticed Cooper struggling on deck, Nathan radioed Captain Sandy Yawn for help. “Cooper thinks he just had a peanut,” he explained. “He’s allergic to peanuts.”
Although Cooper admitted he “did throw up just a little bit,” he insisted that after taking Benadryl, he was okay.
“I don’t want to take a risk. I want the medic to come see you,” Sandy decided.
Sandy’s instincts turned out to be invaluable, as Cooper soon began wheezing on the swim platform, and wavered before dropping to his knees. As Nathan urgently reported on the radio, “Captain, Cooper’s getting worse,” Sandy answered, “The medic’s ETA is two minutes.”
Chef Joy Lefaucheur reacts to Cooper Dawson’s medical emergency on Below Deck Med
Cooper’s sudden medical distress shocked chef Joy Lefaucheur, who insisted the protein balls “didn’t have peanuts” during the July 20 episode. But when Cooper translated the a jar’s ingredients from Greek to English, he discovered the jar “contains traces” of peanuts.
Although Cooper insisted he was okay, Joy exclaimed, “Yes, I’m worried! It’s my job. If I cannot do that, I should change.”
Producers showed a flashback of Cooper informing Joy of his peanut allergy on the first day of the charter season.
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“I just want to cry,” she confessed to producers. “Maybe it’s because [primary charter guest] Suzanne is very difficult. Maybe I was not paying attention. And now, Cooper is about to die.”
She took full responsibility for the mishap as she began to cry, “I feel like I’m a pretty s—t chef. And a pretty s—t person. I’m petrified.”
Cooper Dawson gives an update after his medical emergency on Below Deck Mediterranean Season 11
As the medic boarded M/Y Akira One during the July 30 episode, Cooper claimed he’d “already been through the worst of it” when it came to his peanut reaction.
“I definitely have a bit of hives, but I don’t feel the urge to throw up anymore,” he reported, and added he’d taken two Benadryl.
The medic ruled he was stable and okay to work, as long as he took it easy. “What a relief to hear from the medic that Cooper’s gonna be okay,” Sandy admitted to producers. “When you have such a healthy young man so vulnerable, it’s hard to see. Making sure that he’s taken care of is my number one priority. Anaphylactic reactions are nothing to play with.”
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Sandy discovered Joy in the galley crying, “I almost killed him!” and insisted that Cooper would be okay.
“No you didn’t almost kill him,” Sandy reassured Joy. “Come on, he’s fine. Don’t worry, you’re good.”
Cooper recounted a time in 2022 when he had a much more dire allergic reaction to peanuts. “I’ve only ever had one other really close call. I ate a Snickers by accident,” he shared. “I’m struggling to breathe, I’m throwing up. Thankful for my friend’s dad who was saying, ‘Cooper, keep breathing! Keep breathing.’ Because I was at a point where it was so much effort to do it that, I didn’t want to anymore.”
ICYMI, learn more about why Nathan threatened to fire deckhand Luke Brumer during Below Deck Med Season 11.
