My Hunger Games Moment

I was planning on writing about the wonderful experience I had at the Challenged Athletes/ Ossur Mobility clinic on Saturday. It was a life-changing experience made even more special because I was able to share it with Scott and Robby. I couldn't have imagined a better way to spend my birthday!

Unfortunately, the events of  Sunday have forced me to postpone my writing about the clinic and my speech. Yesterday, in an effort to soak up some sun and get the yard cleaned, I set out to work in our woods. After about an hour cleaning out the brush with the sling blade, I was beginning to feel like I was "in the zone." I should have known better than to pat myself on my back.

I tried to bring down a small thorn bush when I saw a large insect in my peripheral vision. The bug kept buzzing around my face and, although I tried to move out of his way, he seemed determined to sting me. I tried to bat him away from my face when he stung my left eye brow. Everything after this incident is a bit of a blur.

I remember grabbing my face and bending down. When I looked up I saw what looked like hundreds of bees swarming up from the ground. In an instant I was surrounded by angry bees, all trying to sting me. I can only assume that I whacked their nest with my blade, and they were seeking revenge.

I was being stung on the scalp and neck as I tried to flee. My prosthetic became entwined in the very bush I was trying to bring down, and I fell. The furious insects began to gorge on my bum.

After making it out of the woods and away from the swarm, I was not in good shape. I fainted (I thought from the pain) and Scott took me to the hospital. I protested because I am not allergic to bees. I stopped complaining when my throat began to swell, making it extraordinarily difficult to swallow and breath.

Within moments of pulling into the emergency room drop-off area, I was being  attended to simultaneously by at least 8 people. IV's were started in both arms, numerous shots were given as I breathed some foul smelling substance through the mask. The doctors stopped counting the stings when they identified at least 20 marks.

I am thankful for the doctors and nurses at the hospital. They were competent, kind, and calm. I received the best treatment possible, and after a few hours I was released.

Right now I feel toxic. I'm swollen, sore, and itchy. I'm also incredibly grateful that it was me who found the nest and not Robby. I shudder to think of what the ramifications would have been had he been stung so severely. Despite the stings, I know that we were all very lucky!

I am officially retiring my landscaping duties. I am calling an exterminator this morning to clear out the nests. (Scott found some of the flying assassins. At an inch in size, we have now identified them as yellow jackets, not bees.) My birthday present to myself this year is the landscaper who I am hiring to finish making the woods a safe place to play. I never want to experience that horror again; I felt like I was living through a scene from The Hunger Games!