This is what happened to my throat when they put up the new cedar fence..who knew?..I knew I was allergic to cedar, but I thought it was the cedar tree, resin what ever..nope raw cedar slammed my lungs shut like the gates of heaven on Hitler. I noticed my allergies getting a little worse over the days of fence building, but didn't connect them. Then Saturday night I went to bed feeling crapy but no biggy..Woke up Sunday morning and my throat was almost closed shut. I could barely talk, and breathing was almost impossible. I was going to call 911 on my own but I couldn't speak loud enough to be heard..SO I thought I would call Babs and see if I could croak out something to her to let her know I needed hep..Don't know why I didn't just go to one of the neighbors..??? duh!..anyhow I got a hold of Babs and croaked out..can't breathe and bad. She came a running. When she got there, I tried to tell her how bad it was, and think she figured it out on her own..smart girl her. She said you want me to call a ambulance? and I croaked out 'yes'...So the ambulance comes, I'm trying to gather up my drugs, get Dexter in the bathroom, he gets out comes back in, he's freaking out..I look up and see the EMT guy walking up and it looks just like a friend of mine ...Termite..who let me tell you I love..but not the one I want in charge of taking me to the hospital..I'm thinking 'oh fuck, no way is Termite taking me for an ambulance ride.'...ahh. it's not Termite but his look-alike. He's working on me and says don't I know you?..(Babs says everyone knows her) and we remember he used to own the little gas station where I used to buy gas all the time. I told him he looked like Termite and it freaked me out..They know each other and call each other brother..weird..So I crawl on the gurney and they strap me in and jack me up about 12 feet in the air..or so it seemed..Dexter was flipping out. You could almost hear him yelling 'where you taking my mom.'...Before they put me on the gurney he started me on the treatment, who's name completely skips my mind..breathe in a tube full of medicated steam or something..Looked like a modern day peace pipe..It didn't do much so off to Hillcrest we go. ( When we get to the parking lot there are about 4 old farts out there..waving to me, Kevin said for me to do the Royal Queen wave when I got in the ambulance..So I did).Me croaking out smart ass remarks and making jokes to keep myself from sitting up in the gurney and screaming 'HEY, MOTHER FUCKERS...I CAN'T BREATHE HERE.'..
sigh..*
Get me to Hillcrest Scott and White and they give me another treatment and it's not working. The nurse is Heather and Nicole(Nicole was riding free in the womb) and she's great..The lady who took my x-rays was great..the guy who drew my blood was great. He actually did a great job as I have bad 60's veins..if you get my drift. So I'm sitting in this contraption bed sucking on the peace pipe, and this cute little bald guy comes in and says I'm doctor peteraheoerheoaereoeurrrr, and how are you feeling?..I said "I feel like hammered shit."..He burst out laughing and said, you said that with perfect delivery ...So we figured out what was wrong with me..extreme reaction to the new cedar fence and put me on iv-steroids. Whee..Before he left he asked if he could do anything for me and I said yes, hand me that book out of my purse. He laughed and said you brought a book?..said 'I always take a book with me no matter where I go..Never can tell when you have a couple of minutes of boredom..Books cure that. So I lay there gasping for breath like a fish out of water and then Babs shows up with the DAM news..Things are starting to look up. Babs had called my son Thom and Jamie and Jamie said she was already there, her boyfriend had a serious infection on his hand that had gone all the way across his chest and to his other arm. Really bad. So she came down and we visited for awhile and then her Mom and step dad came down and visited for a while. I was feeling much better and Doctor Peter said I could go home. He gave me a script for 4 days worth of steroids( I grow balls be strong as bull)..and an inhaler. So as I walk out I go to see the Dr and the aids/nurses etc to say good bye and thanks for the terrific care they gave me and several of them asked me if I still felt like hammered shit. So guess Dr. Peter has spread the word. Which was pretty funny. I needed funny. I need lots of funny.
Babs brings me home and runs all over West for me, getting Diet Ginger Ale, lemons, Sugar Free Menthol cough drops and what ever else I needed. We go thru the coupons from the DAM News and she orders me to eat and take a nap. Which I tried to do..But poor Dexter is still freaking out..I go to him and he starts smelling all the stuff on me..the name tag, the cotton where the iv was, and he's looking at it and sniffing at me..then he looks up and from the eyes that usually say
'Hey, hooman whenz dinner."...had this look in his eyes like..."Mom...you waz sick and they took you away and now your back and you smell weird."...well, I burst into tears. Think it finally hit me just how fucking scared I was and all the joking and covering it up with humor didn't cover up the fact that I had the living shit scared out of me. Not being able to breathe is a very scary and I was really scared. Don't tell anyone I have this reputation as a tough bitch you know.
So anyhow...that was my excitement for the day..and let me tell you..that's all the excitement I need. Last time I had been that scared was the shoot out...But.......I'm a survivor..but does make you stop and think....I'm 67, and didn't take all that good of care of myself ...to busy taking care of every one else, drinking and raising hell. So need to get serious about the allergies as I am about my diabetes...So Dr. E said I need to go to an allergist which I'm going to do.
We're fixing to have a cold front come slipping in..down to 15 by Tues and 12 by Wed and not above freezing till the weekend..So I'm holding up with all my drugs and the cats. Oh...cats. Did I tell you about Rocky?..If not I'll save it for another day..
fuckme..I'll never sniff cedar again.
19 comments:
I hope you have somebody out there tearing down that damned fence!
Seriously.
Get better NOW!
You gotta get well...where would I get my funnies?
That is way way too much excitement for one day! Allergist is a good idea. I've been getting shots for years. I still have some allergies but the misery level (and number of sinus infections) is down. That's the best I can ask for. Anyway I recommend it, even though it takes a long time to see any results.
Aren't you at peril as long as the fence is there?
WOW! You had almost as much to say as I do...........and for a very good reason.
That was some scarey shit m/f.
Get well soon and GIVE EM HELL!
Maybe if they paint that fence with some sort of sealer...
...but the extreme cold ought to hold it for a while...
and YOU... I hope you recover and feel much better real soon - even though I knew you must be ok since you typed a post about it - I was getting worried about you and still am... your tough exterior never fooled me... :) I know youse is a good one inside.. and we need you around.
Hugs ya tight...
Holy moly, what a scary experience! I'm sure glad you're okay (and Dexter too, poor cat was scared as well). I have the same question as everyone else -- what about that fence? Won't it just keep on aggravating your allergies? Can it be neutralized?
Your damned right you got to start taking care of yourself! And on top of that you scared the living "hammered" shit out of us. Wish I was there to give you such a smack - nay forget it just to give you a hug and say "Lady watch it, please?"
baci di Roma
Well you paid me back for April before last.
I know just what you mean about not being able to breath. I had the trach and the tube would get clogged up and I couldn't make a sound and was too weak to press the call button.
They used to pump pressurized meds into my tube to keep my lungs clear every few hours. I'm glad you had Babs there to help. At least I know not to get you a cedar chest as a present.
That's pretty bad when you scare a cat! Jesus! OMG I'm so glad you're okay and on the mend. Take precious care of yourself, girl! <3 you!
I got stung on the face by a jellyfish once and ended calling an ambulance for myself.
Glad you're OK now. I rekkon when the fence airs out it'll be OK.
When I saw that pick I started to ask how can you breath. Man that was a close one! Babs comes through in a pinch. I've never heard of a cedar allergy that severe, you'd better take care of your own self for a while, the other people will be ok without you for a short time.
oh no! Get better soon!
HOLY CRAP! Hope you feel better soon.
Seriously, those fences take a long time to cure. So I'm sending the Philadelphia Eagles down to whitewash it for you. Do not tip them or they'll never leave.
Good evening Jackie Sue,
Wow, I'm glad you're OK. Are they going to do something about the fence? You should check to make sure so that this doesn't happen again.
If you do have a problem, even if you can't speak. Dial 911 and keep the call open, they will find you.
I'm glad you got to the ER when you did. That was some nasty sh*t!
Yeah, you should keep Benadryl in your house at all times; I think they even make a liquid for occasions when you can't swallow capsules. 100 mg would do it, which is probably something like what they gave you. But you'd sleep it off for a good day or so! (It would be good to have someone with you when this stuff happens, for that reason, so you should still call people whenever you have anaphylaxis.)
Glad you are okay!!! xoxoxoxo
thinking of you...keep raising hell while you take care of yourself.
Thanks for all the good wishes..I'm feeling a lot better..least my throat and air way is open. Got a return phone call from the allergist and have an apt. Monday. She said over the phone I sounded like I had asthma..was wheezing like a steam engine.Never had asthma, but Babs googled adult onset asthma, and sounds a lot like what I get and get all the damn time.
I talked to the manager about sealing it and she said no one has been around with the cold weather(plus the wind blew the porta potties over..hahah)but will see if they are going to seal them..if not I'm calling the owner in Michigan(fecking yankees) and tell him this is Texas..we're knee deep in cedar and every one is allergic to it..seal the fucker..
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