The Devil!

I’ve lived in AZ all of my life..well all but maybe 2-3 yrs of it. I’ve heard people tell me AZ is infested with scorpions and to watch out for these pests and make sure you shake out your shoes, sheets, and anything in the back of your closets.

The thing is..I’ve never ran into one myself. My brother when he was 3 I think…was playing outside at the trailer we lived in out in Queen Creek was chasing a frog, so he thought. Until out came a scorpion and bit him. My mom panicked and we loaded up and rushed him to the E.R. where he was hooked up to all sorts of things to make sure he didn’t die. Apparently kids are at a very high risk of dying if you don’t get medical treatment immediately.

So, yesterday…I was changing Alayna’s bedding, which seems to be a daily occurrence because that girl pees like a fire hose, and I felt an ant bite. The bite didn’t’ seem to stop so I swatted my foot and nothing was there. Before I put my foot back down on the floor I see “IT”!!!!

The little devil ran under her stuffed hippo chair that was right next to me. I lifted it up to see him better and then it dawned on me…Holy Hanna…I was just stung by a scorpion! Now remember, all I could remember was what my mom did for my brother..and I couldn’t think what if anything I heard adults should do. So like any paranoid person..I freak out!

I start yelling at the kids telling them I was stung. I’m running around the house like a woman who had lost her mind. I call Jared and I’m screaming in the phone..”I’ve been stung by a scorpion what do I do? I’ve been stung by a scorpion!!” I was yelling so loud he couldn’t understand me or help me and at this point I’m thinking I’m probably going to die! So I hang up on him just after I told him he’s no help!

So the next logical thing a person losing her mind does is call 9-1-1!! That’s right 9-1-1! I ask them what I should do and they ask if I want an ambulance and I think OK..do I really need an ambulance? Then it occurs to me there is an Urgent Care which is literally seconds away from my house and I can get there before anyone could get to me..so I ask them if I could do that. They said if that’s what I want to do. I tell them OK..and begin to scream at the kids to find their shoes and get in the van!!!

I drive at mock speed and we miraculously get there in one piece. By now my ankle/foot is THROBBING!! I tell them through tears of stress, pain, and panic that I’ve been stung and they take their sweet time in getting me back to see anyone. Of course only after giving me a pile of paperwork to fill out first. So while I’m waiting I call my mom and she said have they given you any ice for it cuz that is the only thing that really helps the pain. When I told her no..she starts to get riled up and ask the lady for an ice pack. OH MY….an ice pack never felt soooooo goooood!! Finally relief! My mom goes on for about 5 min. about how they are taking too long to get me back what is wrong with them? I finally have to tell her I have to go..mom’s are protective. 🙂

They finally call me back, my kids are running around like it’s McDonald’s, I’m thinking what are they going to do to or for me..and the Dr. comes in and basically says…”We don’t really do anything for adults. Keep ice on it and I can give you a RX for Valium in case you have any leg muscle spasms. Keep an eye out for any red streaks or if you become short of breath or start vomiting. Other than that..that’s it.”

OK…$25.00 down the drain!!! I guess it was good that they checked me over and what not..but I never filled the RX and I have ice at home. I wasn’t in my right state of mind..it really wasn’t their fault. 😛

However, there was a 12 yr. old boy who had been in just before me that had gotten stung and had a more severe reaction than I did. He couldn’t track the Dr.’s finger back and forth w/ out his eyes twitching ..they weren’t smooth. He had to be hooked up to IVs and the whole thing. So I suppose I got off pretty easy.

The pain initially from the sting wasn’t too bad..but in just a few min. my foot was on FIRE and just ached and felt numb and tingly. I have a pretty good bruise looking thing on my foot close to where I was stung, but not in the same spot. Some of the tingliness has moved up my leg up to my thigh. Here on day 2 I feel much better and all the pain is gone. The best way to explain the tingly numbness is like when your foot falls asleep and you move it…but like times 10! It’s really more annoying than anything….

Here is a picture of the Devil…I had Jared come home from work to kill it while we were at Urgent Care. Now we have the task in finding a pest control company that will make sure we don’t have this happen ever again!!!