We went on a family hike in the mountains this weekend. It's 2 miles almost straight up and then 2 back down. Several times during the hike we were accosted by bees buzzing around our heads. I would pompously lecture the children about how if we don't bother them, they won't bother us. All the while making fun of Jake as he would jump, dance and swat to get away from them. I'm not afraid of bees, really, and don't remember being stung since I was a kid.
Anyway, we're almost at the bottom and I'm telling the kids how "see, there was nothing to worry about with the bees," when - WHOOSH! - a bee flew straight up inside the my shorts and proceeded to sting me on the inner thigh. My reaction was instinctual and I slapped at the pain... so the bee just moved over a couple inches and stung me again. Now I'm the one jumping, dancing and swatting at my legs, while Jake comes around the bend behind us and has no idea what just happened. So he's laughing, thinking he's caught me not following my own advice. I'm trying not to swear like a pirate in front of the kids and quickly moving from shock and anger to just being in so much pain that I want to start crying. And there is still a half a mile to go to get home.
While I was jumping, swatting and swearing, the bee flew out of my shorts and into the bushes nearby, so I have no idea what kind it was. All I know is that I'm in some serious pain here and have to get home. Because of the placement of the sting, each step just aggravates it, but I have no choice but to suck it up and head home. Jake headed on with our son, and was waiting for me with an icepack and a leaf off one of my aloe plants. Now it's three days later and I'm still hurting. The stings have turned into a hard welt the size of my fist, surrounded by a larger area of red, painful welt that covers almost my entire thigh. My girlfriend, who so handily happens to be an ER doc, tells me that it looks like an allergic reaction and I must be allergic to bees. Go figure, I had no idea. The placement of the sting makes it hard to sit and/or walk and I look like a total doofus walking around with an ice pack between my legs all the time.
Oh well, at least I work from home! ; )
Oh my...that really stinks. My son has always had a innate fear of bees and the same thing happened. One day he is minding his own business playing. One landed on the back of his neck. When he reached back to touch the "tickle," it stung him two or three times. His didn't swell, luckily. My dad was there and killed it. My son was screaming bloody murder.
I'm not a big bee expert but I think it is safe to say it wasn't just a little ol' honey bee that stung either of you because they die after one sting.
Hope you're recovered soon. :)
Posted by: Damsel Underdressed | August 06, 2009 at 04:07 AM