Built by a Patient,
For Patients
VectorShield was born from a near-death experience and a wife's determination to find answers when doctors couldn't.
The Day Everything Changed
It was a typical day in Northeast Arkansas. I was helping my dad put up fences on his new property—the kind of work you don't think twice about in rural America.
When I got home, I found six ticks latched onto my left leg. Despite using bug spray, they'd found their way through. I removed them and didn't think much of it.
Weeks later, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling violently sick. I had no idea why. That was just the first episode.
The worst came after a steak dinner with an old friend. What should have been a great evening turned into the scariest night of my life.
I ended up in the emergency room—pumped full of antihistamines, fighting off anaphylaxis, almost passing out on the bathroom floor.
My Wife Found the Answer
While I was still recovering, my wife started researching. She spent hours on Facebook groups, medical forums, and late-night Google searches. She connected the dots that the medical professionals had missed.
Ticks. Meat. Delayed reactions.
She suspected Alpha-Gal Syndrome—a condition where tick bites cause your body to develop an allergy to a sugar molecule found in most mammalian meat. Reactions are delayed by 3-6 hours, which is why no one connected my dinner to my emergency room visit.
My wife diagnosed me before my doctor did.
We had to request a specific blood test from Quest Diagnostics. The result confirmed what she already knew: Alpha-Gal Syndrome.
Living With Alpha-Gal Is Exhausting
Getting diagnosed was just the beginning. Managing Alpha-Gal turned out to be a full-time job for both me and my wife.
It's not just about avoiding steak. It's hidden in everything—medications with gelatin capsules, candy with beef-derived ingredients, cosmetics with animal-sourced collagen.
We needed a system. So I built it.
VectorShield: The System I Wish Existed
VectorShield is built on a powerful insight: your body knows you're having a reaction before you feel the symptoms. Your heart rate increases. Your HRV drops. These changes happen 30–60 minutes before the hives and swelling.
By monitoring vital signs through your Apple Watch and combining them with intelligent food tracking, VectorShield warns you when a reaction is building—giving you time to take antihistamines or get to safety.
No more mystery reactions.
Just safety analysis when you need it most.
Alpha-Gal by the Numbers
Sources: CDC Alpha-Gal Syndrome surveillance data, Commins et al. clinical studies
Join Our Mission
Whether you have Alpha-Gal, know someone who does, or just believe in building technology that matters—we'd love to hear from you.