anaphylaxis

(much of the swelling in my face had subsided by the time of this photo)

so, i guess i almost died yesterday. on thursday i was stung/bitten in the arm by a bug that i wasn't able to visually identify. but, the general consensus is that it was probably a horsefly. saturday morning i was stung, yet again, in the back of the leg by a yellow-jacket. evidently, this can be a recipe for not-a-good-time.

for the latter, i was home alone cutting grass; very quickly things went strange. i hopped in the shower, where things only got stranger...redness, lightheadedness, hives/welts, itching like a son of a bitch, and my face morphed into this hideous countenance.

i decided to drive myself to the ER; my original intentions were to ride it out in the parking lot, or the lobby should the heat become too unbearable. but, my usual visual floaters where starting to morph into luminous globs, meaning consciousness was more than likely waning. so, i decided to talk. At one point i had to ask the girl at the desk which box to check on the sign-in sheet; i told her, "i can't make out what that says."

anyhow, i was immediately taken back and was twice-checked at having a systolic around 70 and dropping, and i was fairly dehydrated from doing the yard. so, i realized just takin' a nap might not have worked out so well. i've been quipping recently that expecting fathers are at huge risk for dying--you hear about it all the time on the news!

anyhow, out came the epinephrine and so on...and here we are.

after the fact, i always like a good brush with death: teaches you how to live!

but, i tell ya, tangling with the Grim Reaper sure is itchy stuff!