Bee Sting to Emergency Visit

We ride bikes on the Kalamazoo Valley River Trail on Monday’s and always have a scheduled bakery visit after our ride. This particular Monday we stopped at MacKenzie’s Bakery on Harrison Street and my husband and I ordered coffee and donut.  We chose to sit on their outside patio because it was such a beautiful day.  There were a couple of bees around as is typical this time of year and we shooed them away as we continued to enjoy the morning.  I had a couple of bites left and proceeded to take another bite of the donut when I felt the sharp pain on my tongue, and realized immediately what had happened.  I quickly removed it from my mouth and the bee came with the donut. Like any sting it was very painful and I asked my husband if he had any ibuprofen, which he did, so I took two with water and decided to call my daughter who is a nurse.  She instructed me to get ice and find a Walgreen’s nearby to get Benadryl.  I went into the bakery and they gave me a glass of ice cubes.  My husband took his bike to go get our car and come back to pick me up so we could get some Benedryl. After loading my bike on the car I knew we had some at home so I just suggested we head home and I took 2 Benadryl and continue d to keep ice in my mouth but I could tell my tongue was getting bigger each minute.  I decided to do what the kids do and took a picture of my tongue and send it to my daughter.  I immediately heard back and she said “dad” had to take me to ER now and they would probably give me steroids to calm things down. So back in the car we go and head down to Bronson ER which I noticed was very busy this Monday.  By now my tongue was pretty much filling my mouth and I could not speak well and did feel I might choke.

I received attention immediately and was taken to Room C where everyone seemed to converge in the room and the doctor and nurses all began their tasks.  Everything happened so fast, the IV, the sticky things for the heart, BP, another needle in the arm, and a grape popsicle. I was just amazed how quickly they took care of me, no chatter, very calm, just focused on their tasks.  They said I would probably there another 4 hours as they monitored my progress.  I felt very calm even though my blood pressure was higher than it has ever been in my life. I really feel that had a lot to do with the doctor, nurses, and all the staff doing a fantastic job!  I cannot thank them enough for the help they gave me that day. I do not remember any of their names but please thank them for me!!

I honestly did not realize the seriousness of my situation that day.