Elk Grove man stung twice by bees dies

Jim Makris was no stranger to the outdoors.

The 51-year-old Elk Grove Village man loved fishing, boating, and golfing.

So when the married father of three died Monday due to complications from a severe allergic reaction to bee stings, it shocked family members.

"He has been stung many times just because his field of work" as a decorating contractor for various businesses, said Makris' sister-in-law, Sheila Takeda of Elk Grove Village. "He never had an issue before."

Makris was stung twice by bees while working in his yard Sept. 11 and 12.

"He got stung by a bee on his leg and didn't think anything of it," Takeda said.

He was out working in the yard again the very next day when a bee stung his left temple, Takeda said.

Makris called out to his wife Maggie in pain.

"He said I'm not feeling well and (my sister) was going to take him to the emergency room when she noticed him starting to collapse," Takeda said. "She called 9-1-1 immediately."

Maggie Makris stayed on the phone with the 9-1-1 operator counting Makris' breaths. He took just eight breaths before paramedics arrived and began to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Takeda said.

He was taken to the emergency room at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village. At first he had no pulse, but doctors revived him and he was admitted to the hospital's critical care unit.

Fluid began to build up in Makris' lungs and his kidneys started to fail. A CT scan revealed there was no activity in Makris' brain and he was declared brain-dead. He was taken off a ventilator about 3 p.m. Monday.

"He went into anaphylactic shock," Takeda said. "We were told later that he had five heart attacks in succession. He went in there a perfectly healthy man. There was nothing wrong with him. It wasn't like he had a heart condition or high blood pressure."

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health 50 to 100 people die each year from bee and wasp stings, largely because of an allergic reaction to the venom within one hour of the sting. Only 1 percent of the population is allergic to bee and wasp venom.

The department advises anyone allergic to bee stings to carry emergency epinephrine injection kits as directed by their doctors.

Makris is survived by his wife Maggie, and children, Alexander, 17, Michael, 16, and Nicole, 12.

Memorial services for Makris will be held at 9 a.m. Friday at Salerno's Rosedale Chapels, 450 W. Lake St., Roselle, followed by a 10 a.m. funeral service at St. Nectarios Greek Orthodox Church. Interment will be in Elmwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to an education fund set up for the Makris children. Checks should be made payable to Margaret Makris with the notation "deposit only" and sent to the attention of the Personal Banking Department, c/o Parkway Bank, 951 Meacham Road, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007.