Fire ants!

How can something so little hurt so much? I've asked myself that question a thousand times and always in regard to some tiny, evil, red devils properly named FIRE ANTS! If you've ever encountered any of these wretched insects, you know what I'm talking about! Their potent venom can inflict so much pain. 

On a hike, about a week ago, my husband and I stopped to have lunch. There was a concrete picnic table in the state park and we decided to have lunch there. As always, I looked under the table before sitting down. (I've learned in the past, creepy crawlers like to hide and nest there.) When I looked, I didn't see anything but decomposing leaves, so flinging one leg then the other over the concrete bench, sat down to enjoy a sandwich. After lunch, we drove home thinking about the perfectly beautiful day we'd had. 

But...

About an hour into our ride home, I began to itch. That's when I realized I'd been attacked. 

As soon as we got home, I pulled off my pants and saw the damage, about 30 bites covered my legs. They were flame red and welted up. I recognized those bites from past attacks. Pulling out the Benadryl, I coated my legs but got little relief. 

For the next several days, I itched and scratched. I slathered myself in hydrocortisone cream and alternated with Benadryl, I even took oral Benadryl hoping the medication would quell the antihistamine roaring through my body, but nothing worked. 

It's a good thing I keep my nails short, or I would have been bleeding all over the place! Even with short nails, I did some damage as I was scratching, but try as I might, I had to do it. It wasn't until I scratched off the top layer of skin that I got some relief and then, a friend told me to try Lavender essential oil. That was the only thing that helped. 

I don't know why God invented some of His creatures, like flies, mosquitoes, and ants but I'm sure He had a reason. 

Fire ants could be a weapon of mass destruction, or at least feel like it! 

 If you see any of those little red devils, BEWARE! They don't play! They are seriously equipped to inflict pain and can even cause anaphylaxis. 

The Silent Killer

 

I don't know who coined the term "The Silent Killer," but I've learned a lot about it lately. The term relates to blood pressure. 

Many people have no idea what their blood pressure reading is unless they monitor it. Most people don't keep a check on their blood pressure because you can't really feel what it's doing until it's either too high, (hypertension), which can be noticed by severe headache, pounding heartbeat, or other symptoms. Or if it's too low, (hypotension), which may be indicated by feelings of dizziness, fainting, or fatigue. 

Hypertension can be hereditary, as is my case. Many of my family members have or have had hypertension. I don't know when my blood pressure first became a problem, but it seems I've had it all most of my life. That being the case, I've tried to monitor it at least once or twice a day for years. 

About a week ago, my husband and I were sitting in the living room watching a movie on TV. All of a sudden, I started feeling odd. I could feel my heart beating out of rhythm. Instead of the normal LUB DUB, LUB DUB, LUB DUB, mine was going LUB....DUB....LUB LUB LUB DUB...DUB...LUB, LUB DUB, DUB, DUB. I thought perhaps my blood pressure was high, so I went to check it. It was indeed elevated but it wasn't quite time for my medication. I waited a few minutes and when the rhythm of my heart kept being out of sync thought I might better take my blood pressure medicine early. After taking it, I waited another 15 minutes thinking it would kick back into normal rhythm and I'd be okay, but it did not. That's when I started to get scared. 

I'd had extremely high blood pressure in the past and had been rushed to the hospital so I knew the drill. The last time that happened to me, I was in Alaska on a 2 week mission trip. We were helping a church in Moose Creek, Alaska, build a youth center. My job was mudding a tapping sheetrock. It was the middle of summer and being up on a ladder all day in that heat was overwhelming. When I started feeling off, the first thing I did was get off the ladder. I told my team leader I wasn't feeling well and he suggested I go into my makeshift bedroom in the church (an air mattress on the floor of a Sunday School room) and lie down. I did, but things got worse. I started feeling heavy pressure on my chest and assumed I was having a heart attack. When the team leader came in to check on me, he could tell I was in bad shape and called an ambulance. The closest hospital was in Fairbanks, AK, twenty miles away. It would take about twenty five minutes to get there. The team leader was worried and told the ambulance to meet us halfway. I was loaded into the pastor's truck and whisked away down winding dirt roads. 

When we met up with the ambulance, they flipped on the sirens and rushed me to the hospital. After a couple of days in the cardiac care unit, they let me go. They never did determine if I did have a heart attack but said I did have SVT - supraventricular tacycardia. (That means my ventricles were beating way faster than they should have and were messing up my heart rhythm.) It was a very scary time for both my husband and I. 

As I sat in the recliner in the living room trying my best to stay calm, Phil said he thought he needed to call 911. I didn't want to go to the hospital, but felt I was in crisis and it would be wise to go. Since my husband is very hard of hearing, I made the call. Thankfully, the 911 operator was very patient and had a calming voice. She stayed on the phone with me until the ambulance arrived. 

At the hospital, they ran all kinds of tests, Tronopin levels, CBC, Complete Metabolic panels, etc. They found out my potassium was extremely low at 2.7 and told me if I hadn't come in, my heart probably would have stopped. 

To make a long story shorter, 3 cardiologists saw me and the one with the most experience (34 years) determined my blood pressure medications needed to be changed and I needed to be pumped with potassium. Two days later, I went home with my heart finally beating normally. 

But there was a problem. The new medication didn't agree with me. It made my legs swell up like balloons. Apparently that was a common side effect of Amlodipine, so I put in a call to my cardiologist giving him info on my symptoms, and he changed my medication again. 

This morning was the first time on the new medication. Hopefully, I won't have any negative side effects. I've been to the hospital 4 times already this year - once for a surgery, once for complications following that surgery, and twice for issues with blood pressure. 

It's no wonder my husband and I suffer medical PTSD! Over the past 10 years, I've been hospitalized over and over again, mostly due to cancer related issues. 

Please take your health seriously. If you don't own a blood pressure monitor, most drug stores have one you can use for free or the pharmacist will take it for you. It's so important to pay attention to your body. It does signal when things are wrong, you just have to learn to pay attention the signals. 

I told my husband, after this last ambulance ride, I don't ever want to go to the hospital again and I meant it. While I'm thankful for the emergency room doctors and staff, often they're inundated with patients and can't give timely care to those who need it. That's one reason it's so important to have someone with you if you ever need to go. That person can be your advocate and help you get the care you deserve.

Who's the Dummy Now?

Have you ever had a movie line pop into your head at the most random time? I have. It happens often, especially since 2 of my kiddos love to watch movies and memorize lines. 

The day before yesterday, after a very uncomfortable situation, I had a line from the hilarious comedy, "Major Payne," pop into my head -  "Who's the dummy now?" And that line was absolutely appropriate for what happened. 

It was hot and when I say hot, think inferno, then add some major humidity top of it. My husband and I had been out working in the yard and had both come in red faced and drenched with sweat. I had the bright idea to cool down using a frozen gel pack. They don't really freeze all the way because of something they put in them (I'm not sure if it's alcohol or what, but it allows them to remain pliable.)

I unbuttoned my shirt and placed the ice pack on my upper chest, just above my stomach. Right after doing it, I wondered why I couldn't feel the coolness from the ice pack. Normally, they're extremely cold and I have to use a thin towel to protect my skin from the icy temps. "Oh, well," I thought as I leaned back in my recliner to enjoy a cold drink. 

I started reading a book and forgot all about having the ice pack on. About thirty minutes later, I remembered and took it off. 

When it was time for bed, I noticed a big red blob on my chest as I was changing into my pjs. Yikes! That's when I realized what I'd done. 

When I had surgery for breast cancer, they sliced me clear across my chest cutting through muscles and nerves. The doc told me I'd probably be numb in that area for years and years, possible for the rest of my life, and to be careful. 

Still feeling no pain, I went to bed but was awakened in the wee hours of the morning hurting. Walking into the bathroom, I lifted my shirt and looked. Huge, ugly blisters had formed on my chest. I had freezer burned my skin!

Who's the dummy now? It was definitely me! I should have thought to put a thin cloth between my skin and the ice pack. I didn't understand how I could be hurting now though. If I hadn't felt the cold from the pack, how was I feeling pain from the burn? 

My youngest daughter helped me figure it out. She said, "Mom, the nerves in your chest muscles were severed, but your skin (the epidermal layer) was still in tack. That's why you can feel the pain now." Great!! 

Digging through some beach stuff, I found a bottle of Aloe Vera and slathered in on my chest. Now I not only had a hideous scar but on top of that a red blobby burn with blisters and now, green tinted Aloe Vera gel. What a mess...

Google says a dummy is a stupid or foolish person, a person lacking intelligence and I'd have to agree. How could I be so dumb? 

It's been 10 years since I had surgery. I guess I'd all but forgotten about my chest trauma. I won't be doing that again! I can't fathom forgetting something like that, but I guess it's a good thing?!? Breast cancer has taken up so much of my life for the past decade. Finally, I've come to terms with all of it and have been living my life as normally as possible. 

Dummy, dummy, dummy! Yep that's me. And I'm the one who'll be suffering for it until this burn heals up. 

Note to self: Do not, I repeat, do not ever put an ice pack on your skin again without using a layer of protection.