Our story
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 — 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 bug spray, they'd found their way through. I removed them and didn't think much of it.
The worst came after a steak dinner with an old friend — what should have been a great evening became 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. And no one could tell me why.
My wife found the answer
While I was still recovering, my wife started researching — hours on forums and late-night searches. She connected the dots the professionals had missed: ticks, meat, delayed reactions.
Alpha-Gal Syndrome — where a tick bite makes your body react to a sugar found in mammalian meat, hours after eating. That delay is why no one tied my dinner to the ER.
My wife diagnosed me before my doctor did. We had to request the blood test ourselves — and it confirmed exactly what she already knew.
Living with Alpha-Gal is exhausting
It's not just avoiding steak. It's hidden everywhere — gelatin capsules, beef-derived candy, animal-sourced collagen. Every day means:
- Reading every ingredient label at the grocery store
- Calling restaurants ahead to ask about cooking oils
- Researching every medication before taking it
- Living in constant fear of another reaction
We needed a system. So I built it.
The system I wish existed
Turn the exhausting parts into a few taps.
Check whether a medication hides mammalian ingredients. Find restaurants with real cooking-fat data. Log meals and reactions, and lean on a community that gets it. (We're also researching whether wearable trends could one day add an early signal — held to a high bar.)
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.