Yeah, so I could have died...
On Thursday the 27th of July, 2006, I very well could have been really, really screwed.
A few years back, i was mountain biking down this mountain (imagine that!), and i got stung by something. The venom was pretty localized, until a kid tried sucking it out with this weird sucking pen thing, at which point it spread in my arm and caused a massive swelling. It was very uncomfortable for a few days. So we decided to go to a clinic to get some tests done.
It ends up i had been stung by a type of wasp of which i forget the name (it has long spindly legs, V shaped wings and is really skinny). They then tested me for the common type of wasp, the vespula. They took a vial of wasp venom diluted by one part venom per billion/million, i forget, water and injected me with it. My shoulder swelled up. Now, regular wasp venom is a 4 times concentrate...
We get the results back. A normal person has an allergy of 2 on the scale for wasp stings, compared to 0 for bees, which is why wasp stings hurt more. For the type that stung me, i was a 500 something, which is pretty allergic, but nothing too bad really. Fir the vespula however, i was a 2598 or some obscene number close to that.
The doctor told me that in most cases, nothing would happen, except for a very painful localized reaction, for which he gave me some medicine that helps prevent the spread of the inflammation. However, he warned me that if the venom entered my blood stream directly, i would be in serious trouble. I would start swelling, have trouble breathing and probably pass out. It was a good idea to have a shot of adrenaline to get my heart going again to be sure to take the medicine as soon as i could. Also, i should go to the nearest hospital, because basically if Patty get venom in blood, Patty really screwed.
I have been in close proximity to wasps my whole life. At 6 Flags Holland they're everywhere, they're in trash cans all the time. So many years went bye without us ever knowing of the danger, and i didn't get stung. Praise the Lord. If you don't annoy the wasp, he won't sting you, so i tend to be the calmer one around them. I would rather them land on me and leave than me swat at them and make em mad... (Thanks to Ben for being my body guard o'er there :P).
So a week ago, i was playing volleyball barefoot, when i felt a sharp prick in my foot. The rest of this paragraph is a play by play in my mind, and the time frame is two heart beats (the time your blood takes to recirculate completely):
Ow, OW! What did i step on? One of those prickly weeds?
Oh crap, oh crap! I just friggin stepped on a wasp... Oh crap....
Holy whay the heck is he pumping so much venom in me??
He's gone... oh crap... oh crap.... Calm down, don't get excited, wait for it, sit down...
If you're gonna have a reaction, it's gonna happen soon or not at all, be ready... relax... OW!!!!!
Oh crap i could die...
After that, i lay down, squeezing my foot just above my second toe on my right foot, in the worst pain i have ever experienced. The wasp missed my blood stream. All the venom went under the skin but didn't hit any veins. I was gonna be ok. One millimeter decided if i would be in the hospital, maybe dead, or lying on the ground, in pain but well.
That, is a miracle.
If you have ever been stung by a wasp, you know the jabbing needle sensation you get from it. Because i am allergic, the pain is at the maximum that all my nerve cells can muster. Where the venom went, the most intense pain i have ever felt would come strong as a charging bull. It spread all throughout my toe, and a week later the inflammation is finally going down. My foot swelled up to double its size along the first half, and the pain didn't leave my toe until two days after. I took my meds, and the swelling went down the next day. In fact, the recovery was very quick, at least allowing me walk and run again. Thanks to everyone who prayed for me.
I was very lucky, and God protected me. Im glad to be here typing again.
If you see one of these guys:
be sure to salute it with whatever you have at your disposal.
Peace duders.
A few years back, i was mountain biking down this mountain (imagine that!), and i got stung by something. The venom was pretty localized, until a kid tried sucking it out with this weird sucking pen thing, at which point it spread in my arm and caused a massive swelling. It was very uncomfortable for a few days. So we decided to go to a clinic to get some tests done.
It ends up i had been stung by a type of wasp of which i forget the name (it has long spindly legs, V shaped wings and is really skinny). They then tested me for the common type of wasp, the vespula. They took a vial of wasp venom diluted by one part venom per billion/million, i forget, water and injected me with it. My shoulder swelled up. Now, regular wasp venom is a 4 times concentrate...
We get the results back. A normal person has an allergy of 2 on the scale for wasp stings, compared to 0 for bees, which is why wasp stings hurt more. For the type that stung me, i was a 500 something, which is pretty allergic, but nothing too bad really. Fir the vespula however, i was a 2598 or some obscene number close to that.
The doctor told me that in most cases, nothing would happen, except for a very painful localized reaction, for which he gave me some medicine that helps prevent the spread of the inflammation. However, he warned me that if the venom entered my blood stream directly, i would be in serious trouble. I would start swelling, have trouble breathing and probably pass out. It was a good idea to have a shot of adrenaline to get my heart going again to be sure to take the medicine as soon as i could. Also, i should go to the nearest hospital, because basically if Patty get venom in blood, Patty really screwed.
I have been in close proximity to wasps my whole life. At 6 Flags Holland they're everywhere, they're in trash cans all the time. So many years went bye without us ever knowing of the danger, and i didn't get stung. Praise the Lord. If you don't annoy the wasp, he won't sting you, so i tend to be the calmer one around them. I would rather them land on me and leave than me swat at them and make em mad... (Thanks to Ben for being my body guard o'er there :P).
So a week ago, i was playing volleyball barefoot, when i felt a sharp prick in my foot. The rest of this paragraph is a play by play in my mind, and the time frame is two heart beats (the time your blood takes to recirculate completely):
Ow, OW! What did i step on? One of those prickly weeds?
Oh crap, oh crap! I just friggin stepped on a wasp... Oh crap....
Holy whay the heck is he pumping so much venom in me??
He's gone... oh crap... oh crap.... Calm down, don't get excited, wait for it, sit down...
If you're gonna have a reaction, it's gonna happen soon or not at all, be ready... relax... OW!!!!!
Oh crap i could die...
After that, i lay down, squeezing my foot just above my second toe on my right foot, in the worst pain i have ever experienced. The wasp missed my blood stream. All the venom went under the skin but didn't hit any veins. I was gonna be ok. One millimeter decided if i would be in the hospital, maybe dead, or lying on the ground, in pain but well.
That, is a miracle.
If you have ever been stung by a wasp, you know the jabbing needle sensation you get from it. Because i am allergic, the pain is at the maximum that all my nerve cells can muster. Where the venom went, the most intense pain i have ever felt would come strong as a charging bull. It spread all throughout my toe, and a week later the inflammation is finally going down. My foot swelled up to double its size along the first half, and the pain didn't leave my toe until two days after. I took my meds, and the swelling went down the next day. In fact, the recovery was very quick, at least allowing me walk and run again. Thanks to everyone who prayed for me.
I was very lucky, and God protected me. Im glad to be here typing again.
If you see one of these guys:
be sure to salute it with whatever you have at your disposal.
Peace duders.
posted by Patty VonWebster at 11:15 PM
1 Comments:
Yay! Patty no get killed by tiny ugly relative of the ant. I am glad. Praise be!
Can I hit it with a Placebo poster?
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