Tracker Jackers Strike Back

Yesterday morning I woke up after the sunrise, a rarity for me lately! The air was fresh smelling and there wasn't a hint of humidity. Drinking my morning coffee, I made plans to spend the day outside, cleaning up the yard, and removing all of the junk which has accumulated in our garage during the past few years.

I grabbed my cell phone and prepared for a few hours of listening to Pandora while working outside. Unfortunately, my phone didn't turn on. It didn't take long for us to realize that my heavily used smart phone suffered a fatal blow in the charging port. I was in possession of nothing more than an expensive paperweight.

Frustrated by the loss of my cell phone and trying to work through the growing anxiety over how much a replacement was going to cost, I went outside to try to escape reality through manual labor. It is amazing how productive I can be when I'm upset. I was zooming through my to-do list in record time!

Within an hour I had the garage tidied and an imposing mountain of trash was sitting in the middle of my driveway. I began working on the porch, taking down the Christmas lights. (I did toy with the idea of just leaving them up. After all, it is only six months until Christmas!) I reached to release the strand from the hook and whamo- I was stung by a hornet.

Before I could move my arm and process the source of the pain, I was surrounded by more of those sadistic insects. I screamed for Scott who came running to my rescue. He swatted them away and cleared a path for me to run inside. Robby came running into the house through the front door, nearly hysterical because he heard me cry. 

Thankfully I was only stung once this time although the venom did have an impact on me. I was dizzy, tired and had some difficulty swallowing and speaking. I was also incredibly scared that I would end up in the hospital!

For the following two hours, I sat quietly on the couch because every time I moved the symptoms worsened. We kept evaluating whether I was stable, improving or worsening. (I was given an epi pen in May, but nobody provided instruction on when we should use it.) Scott sat next to me, ready to stick me with the epi pen and take me to the hospital at a moments notice. Accepting that I was okay, Robby happily watched cartoons and munched on potato chips.

After an afternoon of just sitting, I began to feel the effects of the sting dissipating. I could think in complete sentences and colors were restored to their normal hues. My day was wasted, but I took some solace in the fact that the invaders’ nest was met by our own chemical weapons of mass destruction. Despite my intentions to have a productive and happy day, I ended up with a stupid smartphone and tracker jacker venom coursing through my body. I'm hoping for a better day today!