Yesterday evening, I came home from work, grabbed a quick snack and changed clothes to go mow the thick, lush grass that we had hydromulched in only 5 weeks ago. Of course, according to our water bill, it should have been lush and think or heads would roll... but I digress. For the last 20 years, I have only used a push mower because of the size of the lawns and a few weeks ago we purchased our first riding lawn mower (nothing runs like a Deere!). Along with the push mower came the necessary wardrobe of jeans and sneakers (or work boots). Yesterday, however, I made a conscious decision to start dressing differently when hopping on the Deere. I put on shorts, t-shirt, and an old pair of open-toe sandals. I stepped off the driveway into the thick, lush grass and IMMEDIATELY felt a sting on one of my toes like I have never felt before.
Before I knew it, I had dashed back on to the drive way, kicked off my shoes and was yelling, "OUCH!" a few times and louder than I ever intended. After I recognized how loud it was I was embarrassed and looked around to make sure no one was out in their yard to witness this display. I went back to the edge of the grass to see if I could see something crawling or flying away. I saw nothing.
I went into the house told Laurie about the incident and she gave me something to relieve the sting.
Returning to the job at hand, I backed the Deere out of the storage building and took it over to the driveway for some simple maintenance before trimming the thick, lush grass. I started to feel tingly all over and dismissed it thinking it would go away. I hopped on the Deere and started mowing realizing that the tingling getting more specific and moving up my body. Still, I was not too uncomfortable to be concerned. As I continued mowing, I began to notice that the area around my mouth started to feel numb and soon realized these bumps coming up on my arms that resembled small mosquito bites and knew I probably needed to stop mowing.
Laurie gave me 2 Bennadryl (sp?) and loaded the family into the suburban on our way to the minor emergency clinic. As we drove, I noticed those bumps and rash spreading along with the itching. I looked in the mirror and noticed my lips swollen to the point of looking like a character out of the Simpsons.
You know it is fairly serious when EVERY SINGLE PERSON at the clinic takes one look at you and immediately changes their countenance with looks of sympathy. The doctor walked in and within 10 seconds said, "Well, you certainly are allergic to something!" One booty shot and a Zantac later, the doctor says, "I want you to hang around a little bit to make sure." Discharge came about 20 minutes later with a little relief.
Next time, I'm wearing my jeans and work boots.
5 comments:
Sorry to admit I did smile a little while reading this. As for the bumps, Emily & I are still itching up a storm from our insect bites in Illinois. Glad to hear you are doing better....did they ever figure out what you were allergic to?
I am glad you smiled when reading it. I didn't write it for sympathy but to hopefully find some humor in it all. They never did figure it out. The doctor seemed to think it was an ant bite, but it sure didn't feel like one. Jerry was finishing up the yard today and he said there were several wasps in the grass as he mowed, so we think that might be it.
Last week in my all-too-infrequent lawn care I was stung by a wasp - screemed like a pre-adolescent on a roller coaster at Six Flags. Jill prepared an aspirin mixture as I ran to my mama's house. (She was not amused!) I still have a small bump on the ear where the attack took place.
If you wait too long to blog sometimes God just provides material for you. :)
Oh no...you, my friend, have now been introduced to the sting of a scorpion. Trust me....I was bit by one a few months ago and they are stings like no other. My lips and tip of my nose were numb for two days afterward. Extremely painful and can cause major allergic reactions. Each person reacts to the venom differently! Next time, might I suggest work boots?!?!
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