As long as everyone is sharing . . . :D
My bug story isn't wasps, it's hornets. When I was about 5 or so, my mom
was visiting one of her friends who had a daughter about my age. There
was also a large hedge around her yard and the remains of an old chain
link fence embeded in the hedge, i.e., old metal fence posts. I can't
even remember the other girl's name now, but we were riding our
tricycles up and down the sidewalk and up to the front door and back.
Apparently one or the other of us bumped one of those old metal fence
posts. Living inside was a nest of hornets. They swarmed out of there
like their little tails were on fire and lit into us. Well, me,
actually, as the other girl ran up to the house screaming for help. Both
moms came pelting out of the house, but it wasn't fast enough to save
me. I was stung on the base of my skull by about a dozen of these
nasties. Up until that time there was no problem with the occasional bee
sting other than the usual unpleasantness associated with it. But this
was a really excessive stinging.
By the time my mom could rush me to the hospital I had stopped
breathing, my heart had stopped and I was turning blue, so she told me.
Needless to say I lived (duh) but was terribly allergic to all bee/wasp
venom from then on. No more flowery little girl perfume (I used to love
Avon's stick honeysuckle scented stuff), no more sugar sweetened drinks
left outside (so nothing could get in and sting me), and so forth. Momma
carried a hypodermic of anti-venom for years but luckily never had to
use it. After that one massive stinging, I don't remember ever being
stung again as a child.
The last time I was stung was when my son was little, something like 25
years ago. It wasn't even a sting, really. My boyfriend at the time was
trying to kill a wasp by flicking it with a towel like they were in the
locker room or something. Well the towel hit the wasp and the wasp
ricocheted off my arm, stinger first. It hit the back of my wrist and by
the time I could go down a single flight of stairs to the bathroom, my
arm had swollen up so hard and so fast that the arm of my T-shirt was
cutting into my flesh. Got me cut out of the shirt and off to the
hospital for treatment. And I haven't been stung since, either. I
suppose I should still carry anti venom with me but I guess I like to
live dangerously :D
About 7 years ago I had to be tested for allergies and mentioned to the
doctor that I was allergic to bee stings as a child. He thought it the
better part of valor NOT to test me for that particular antigen during
the scratch test. So even though I haven't been stung in a long time, I
assume I would have a similar reaction today sigh. Ain't life grand?
grin
--
Ruth
Omnia vincit Amor;
et nos cedamus Amori. ~ Virgil
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