Today has been another day which did not go the way I had thought it was going to. May and Jessie and I had planned last night to go get pedicures today and all was going as planned this morning. May and Jessie both had appointments that we were going to meet up after. Jessie's appointment was for her weekly allergy shot which she receives to try and desensitize herself from the many tree and pollen and animal allergies she has. She's been doing this for quite awhile now and they always have her stay in the office for half an hour after getting the shot to make sure that no reaction occurs and she's never had one before. But today, about an hour after the shot, while she was shopping, she began to get a rash and a wheezy cough and a few other slightly disturbing symptoms that could have heralded anything up to and including anaphylactic shock so she went home and took some Benadryl and called the doctor's office. They encouraged her to go to an urgent care for them to check out her vitals and hit her with an Epi pen if need be.
This was all happening while I was on my way into town and texts were going back and forth between her and May and me and we all agreed that she should probably take that advice and so Vergil drove her to the Urgent Care facility and I met them there so that Vergil could go back to work. He felt okay doing this as her symptoms were not getting worse and seemed to be getting a little better.
We saw a doctor and that was...an experience. The nurse had taken an excellent history and the doctor was okay but we had to educate him on what allergy shots are and he got off on a tangent about one of her symptoms but he did seem to pay attention for the most part. He thought that her lungs sounded fine, and her symptoms were not alarming and that she was probably safe to leave.
So off we went. By then we were both very hungry and texted May to see if she wanted to go to lunch as the pedicures were not happening and she didn't but we took her some kale that I'd picked for her and got to visit for a few moments. It was so good to see my May girl. And then Jessie and I went to a Mediterranean place we like and both got the veggie platters with falafel and hummus and pita and dolmades and it was goodness on a plate.
And then I went to Publix and got all the things I didn't get at the GDDG last weekend and saw Lily which means I saw all my kids except Hank today.
I am so glad that my children all live close enough for me to get my arms around if I need to. Or even just want to.
And that's been my day. My toenails are a sin but we are thinking that perhaps next Monday we can try again.
Oh.. you just reminded me to be prepared for the ant invasion coming up! I’ve finally found a solution - Terro ant traps! Nothing else has helped.. Your iris is so gorgeous! Around the month of May I get serious iris envy, making it dangerous to drive around our little town! They are so pretty! And even though I could buy them, I rely on trading with my friends- I’m very excited about this spring’s blossoms!😍 I also want to comment on your garden post yesterday- it’s really looking beautiful! - I hope your daughter feels much better now🥰Xo, Rigmor
ReplyDeleteRigmor: you can also buy something called diatomaceous earth. Just lay a good ring of it around your house foundation, right up against the concrete. If you can do this just before a rain, it is even better. Diatomaceous earth is made of the skeletons of prehistoric microscopic 'critters'. When the ants come through this to get into your house, their exoskeletons are damaged and they desicate. Diatomaceous earth is nontoxic. It is added to animal feed as a dewormer.
DeletePs: for you too, Mary. Trick I learned doing pest control for uncle Sam.
DeleteRigmor- I looked up the ant traps and their active ingredient is Borax which Hank was just talking about the other day. If you mix Borax with a little powdered sugar, the ants eat it and carry it back to the queen and die.
DeleteI hope your irises are even more beautiful than you are hoping for.
Debby- I don't think that I could do that with diatomaceous earth because my house is not on a concrete foundation, there's a crawl space underneath it. And I think it would take a whole lot of the stuff and a lot of time if we did try it. This house has been added onto so many times over the last 150 years or so. But I have heard that it works very well. I just learned from Lauren that restaurants and delis use it to put in the fryers to filter them!
So glad to hear Jessie's reaction wasn't more serious than it was....but any reaction to those injections *could be*. The best laid plans.....ah yes. And that African iris is beautiful! Reminds me of our Mariposa Lilies.....that are just now starting to bud up (out in the pastures, not in our yard).
ReplyDeleteSusan M
Yes! Very similar irises.
DeleteI love the iris but you can keep your ants.
ReplyDeleteLordy, you have things that will kill you as soon as look at you (Hi Maurice).
Haha! You're right. And let's not even talk about the fire ants or red ants as we call them. Their name is a good description of how their bites feel.
DeleteLife happens, shit happens!
ReplyDeleteThat flower is GORGEOUS!
Irises are so delicate looking.
DeleteSorry you missed out on pedicures, but it's good that Jessie is well. Seasonal allergies suck.
ReplyDeleteShe's allergic to so many things that it's not just one season, either. Poor baby.
DeleteDo ants have aunts? Perhaps they are anti-aunts who get antsy. Sorry... I am just being a silly billy tonight.
ReplyDeleteYou can be silly here anytime you want to.
DeletePhew - glad Jessie is OK! I don't think I have seen an iris like that before - stunning!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they'd grow in your part of the world.
DeleteHad a reaction to an allergy shot, after waiting in the office the required time. I had to go to a nearby hospital and have an epinephrine shot. I hope I NEVER have to have another one. Many years later, I have to own and show the shot nurse my epi pen each shot day. I will never have a day I don’t carry an antihistamine. Thank goodness, Jessie took it seriously!
ReplyDeleteI carry Benadryl with me all the time but not an Epi pen. You just never know when someone's going to have an allergic reaction. I'm sorry you had to go through that.
DeleteI would love to see any sort of bug about now, but, it is still winterish, you see. You live on a whole different planet than we up here! But you know that already. Good to know that your plans were flexible and that Jesse had
ReplyDeletehelp. Of course she did!
We do live on different planets. Seems like there should be a planet that is somehow more in the middle of our extremes.
DeleteI believe you about the ant bite stings. We have zillions of ants here, the entire underground is probably one giant ant nest! Anyway, I avoid them, and haven't ever seen any inside, thank goodness. I do hope Jessie is okay and you can all get those pedicures next week.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably the same here with the underground ant systems. We all get ants inside at one time or another around here.
DeleteYou're so right, you never know what will happen next within a family. There's some awful shit going on around me right now (though thankfully not my family - but people I care about)! I hope Jessie is feeling better now and at least you'll be getting more for your money with that pedicure next week!
ReplyDeleteTrue- you never do know. Jessie is feeling fine now.
DeleteThat kind of reaction after a flu shot is why my doctors won't give me flu shots. Mine was more severe than hers, but manageable, but they still say no, any future reaction will most probably be much more serious. I wonder if she'll continue with the preventive series?
ReplyDeleteShe's going to talk to her allergy doctor tomorrow to see what he says.
DeleteI generally have strong reactions to vaccines but never in an allergic way.
Glad Jessie has recovered. I wonder if they will change her shots in the future. I had a pneumonia vaccine yesterday and just got a bit of a sore arm.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't like being around those biting ants! Hope you find a way to keep them away, Mary.
Oh, ants come and they go around here. That's part of our life.
Deletebeing flexible and just go with the flow is essential in life. that is something that I have cultivated. I try not to have expectations and to be able to quickly and without remorse change plans. that is something my sister could not do and every little blip in her life stressed her out and we know where that got her. I wonder what was different about this shot that caused Jessie to have a reaction.
ReplyDeleteI think that some of us are more able to see the big picture and go with the flow than others. I am learning. What happened yesterday certainly did not upset me. Well, except for the worry I had before I got to the Urgent Care and saw Jessie myself.
DeleteNo ants here yet but I am sure they are on their way. Glad Jessie is okay and your pedicures will get rescheduled. Your African iris is beautiful and I've not seen them in MA. I have bearded and Siberian iris but would love a garden filled with African iris. Do they multiply like the bearded and Siberian iris?
ReplyDeleteYes. They do multiply.
DeleteHmmmm...I think I'd be concerned about ants in my computer. That doesn't sound good! What are they eating in there?!
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the pedicures but as Scarlett O'Hara said, "Tomorrow is another day!" (As is next Monday.)
Who knows what they'd be eating in there? Maybe they're just curious little creatures. Or perhaps the heat attracts them.
DeleteI am not one to get upset about missing a pedicure. They're nice but they're not necessities.
Yup...regarding the reaction to the allergy shot. I used to get the shots but switched over to compounded sublingual drops, under the tongue, once a day. That was two years ago. Last month they messed up. The compound I was given was wrong and I had a major reaction. Not pretty. My guess the same happened with your girl. Shit happens but that doesn't make it right. Glad she's ok and Benadryl took care of the worst of it.
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