My Brush With Death
I love to cut up and have fun on here, but something very sobering happened to me yesterday. It will have a profound effect on me as a sportsman for the rest of my life.
Around 5:30 -6:00, I had to go to my old house (we have moved, and my old house has not sold), and cut the grass, edge, weedeat, and all the rest of the stuff I am unwilling to pay someone else to take care of.
Ironically, my son (Wingdinger) pulled up at the old house while I was working, and told me that he had been invited to go to his old school's JV game, but at the last minute decided not to go, and stopped by to help me out. I sent him inside the old house to vacuum and sweep.
The reason I am telling you this is that it is VERY unusual for a teenage boy (at least mine) to ever give up fun, and actually think of helping out the old man.
Anyway, I was cutting the grass, and was on the side of the house mowing around a small tree, when out of nowhere I felt a sharp pain on my temple. I swatted up, and caught glimpse of something in my eye. A wasp had stung me. I looked up in the tree and saw a good size nest in the tree. I moved out of the way, but it hurt so darned bad, I let go of the mower and started to cuss up a storm from the pain.
I shook off the pain, started the mower back up, and returned to my cutting.
After I cut two or three more rows, I got a dizzy sensation. I cut a couple more rows, and suddenly started to feel out of breath.
Something told me to stop mowing and go inside the house. As I went into the house, my son took one look at me and noticed that something was wrong. At this point, my vision has started to dim, and the best I can describe is that I had bad tunnel vision. I also was still feeling like I had just finished 30 minutes of wind sprints. I could not catch my breath.
I told my son to call 911, and about that same instant, I collapsed onto the floor. I rolled on my back, and really started to struggle to breathe. I could not breathe and could barely talk. I could hear my son on the phone to 911(luckily he had a cell phone, as we have disconnected the phone service to the old house), and all I could say was "wasp", and "hurry".
I have been stung by wasps and bees many times in my life, and had never been affected, but over the weekend, I had been dove hunting, and got into some fire ants. I had counted over 35 fire ant bites on my body, and when I was bitten, I had need to take benadryl to fight off a minor rash and swelling that had started from the bites........
At this point, I knew my son was hysterical. I could not breathe. As hard as I tried to take a deep breath, I could do nothing. Time slowed to slow motion. I could not see very well, but I was completely cognizant of every word that my son was saying to me. He was begging me not to die. I felt like someone was smothering me with a pillow, and as hard as I fought to breathe, I could not. My tongue and lips were swollen to where my mouth was almost completely shut. My son was crying and begging for me to wake up. With every ounce of strength I had in my body, I gave him a thumbs up and said "I am O.K., go outside and help them find the house", and "tilt my head back", so my airway would stay open. My sole intent was to get him out of the house because I knew I was dying. I did not want him to have the memory of his father dying in his arms.
I was extremely calm, and although the inability to breathe was agonizing, I felt no pain. My thoughts were rational, and I thought of my wife and daughter (who is away at college). I thought in disbelief that a man who spends so much time outdoors, is going to die from a small insect sting..
At that moment, my son came to me from behind screaming, "Dad they are here", and then the paramedics arrived. Again, I summoned every once I had left and said "hurry" and "wasp". I even pointed to where I had been stung. By this time my vision was like a dark tunnel, and although I still could not breathe, I could hear the paramedics and police talking about me. Right before I sort of blacked out, I remember saying "I'm going"...... I could hear a paramedic shout for epenipherine (adrenaline). They were running an IV, and giving me shots.....none of which I could feel....
My next memory is of a paramedic shouting to hurry, and him holding me down as the ambulance took a very fast and sharp turn. I can remember him screaming to me to fight to breathe, and we would be there soon.
I made it to the emergency room, and although my vision was still gone, I could hear them shouting at me, and asking me questions. They were telling me that they were giving me other shots and that my tongue would stop swelling and go down. They were telling me to breathe.
I came back to reality. The adrenaline and cocktails of drugs had worked. I was not dead. I could barely make out the figures of my wife and son.
Slowly I returned from the fog. They kept me in the emergency room until after midnight.
It turns out I had a massive allergic reaction and had gone into anaphylactic shock. Anaphylactic shock is when your body starts to produce too many antihistamines, and it causes your veins and arteries to expand to the point where your blood pressure drops away to nothing. It also causes your bronchial tubes to constrict and shut off your airway. According to the doctors, a person in this condition unattended will die in minutes.
My son saved my life. Had he not come by the old house to help me, and been inside, I could have never called 911. I would have died in that house alone. I owe Wingdinger my life.
I walked away from death. I knew I was dying. For the rest of my life, I will have to carry an ephedride injector with me everywhere I go (and I am an avid outdoorsman and hunter as you all know). I will always have to be vigilant of biting and stinging insects.
I have thought of nothing since this happened to me, and I am compelled to write this. I wanted to share some things with all of you:
1. It was no coincidence that my son was there. I am convinced of that.
2. My wife told me that all day she had been having this sense of dread that I was going to die, and she had even been calling my cell phone during this whole episode, because she was caught in traffic due to a fatal accident, and was convinced I was in the accident or that something was wrong.
3. There is no white light, but I could sense and hear everything that was being said to or about me.
4. I do not fear death, and never will.
5. Although I knew I was dying, and was very calm, I did not want to die. I fought. I never gave up.
6. From last night forward, I have a new lease on life.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and never take a single thing for granted. Love your family and friends every chance you get. Never feel awkward or shy about telling them how you feel, because when the time comes, you will wish you had.
God bless all of you, and thanks for the fun and stupidity you have let me enjoy, and especially for letting me be fun and stupid with you.
Always be careful when outdoors alone. If this had happened to me while out hunting alone, I would be dead now. Never compromise your safety.
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Wow. Thank you so much for sharing that story. It was sobering. I've only been stung by wasps twice, and had pretty bad allergic reactions both times - but they were localized, and on my extremities. For that reason, I am a complete sissy when it comes to bees / wasps / flying, stinging insects. Snakes don't bother me, but wasps do - a lot think I'm weird, huh? Not so weird after this story.
Hopefully everyone will read this story and think about what they can do to increase their personal safety while outdoors.
Thanks again.
I would recommend to everyone to keep LIQUID benadryl on hand. They only make it in child strength now, but all you have to do is double the dosage for an adult. The reason being that when Wingdinger got me benadryl yesterday it was hard to swallow in pill for due to the fact that my throat was closing, and the pill form takes longer to stay in you system.
I have definately been awakend to better preparedness for bites and stings. Had this happened to me on the lease this past weekend, I would not be here now.
Not to sound redundant, but that is an amazing story and thank you for sharing it with us.
Thank God for your life, for your son being there, and for our public servants that rushed you back to the hospital. That is a great gift from the man upstairs.
I'm sure this gives you a fresh perspective on life, enjoy it! We're glad your still with us.
Thanks for sharing your story. A good friend and client of mine died last year from exactly the same thing.
He had found out the year prior that he was allergic to wasp stings.
Bobby,
For as long as I've been reading your posts, I have never been reduced to tears. I feel like I know you and your son very well and the thought of wingdinger potentially losing you or even being there to see you in such distress really touched me. I am sooo glad he was there to "help" you and commend him for his efforts. Is he doing ok? And isn't it funny how everyone close to you just knew you needed them that day? I am a firm believer that we are never alone in this world and should cherish our loved ones. Glad you're ok!
I do think yesterday took a toll on Windinger, in an emotional sense. He told Foxhuntress (my daughter) that when I was on that floor, my face was blue, my eyes were bulged out of my head, and my tongue was swollen out of my mouth. I know that vision will haunt him for a time. I also can tell he is paranoid about leaving me alone. It will take him a while to get over it, although he is the kind of kid that will not let you know how much it bothers him.
He is a real man. Much braver and tougher than I ever could be.
tremendous story, duckwhacker...so glad you are alright. You have an incredible ability to convey your stories to people. Few have this talent. I hope you continue to do so.
You're lucky to have a son like wingdinger...and he is lucky to have a father like you.
Thanks for sharing and thank heaven you pulled through. I have an EpiPen at home but I never carry it with me in the field where I or someone in my party might need it. Time to start bringing it along.
Awesome story Duckwhacker, That was some ordeal to go through, but Praise be to God you came through it OK. I want to pose a question concerning Benydryll. If you only have the pills with you and you can't swallow them, can't you just bite them and hold it under your tongue? Maybe a professional can answer this. This happened to me.....I was 80 miles south of Galveston on a party boat and got sea-sick. Went inside in the cool room and bit the end from a 25 mg diphenhydramine hydrochloride and shook about 1/3 under my tongue and 5 minutes later was back out fishing. It burned like fire and I wouldn't reccomend doing a whole pill at once, maybe a quarter of it at a time with some time between doses. Benydryll works for my wife for motion sickness when we fly also. God bless you and your family.
Duckwacher, it is good to still have you with your family and with us. I ditto all the above praises to our Lord and to Wingdinger.
I carry Benydryll capsuls in my pocket all the times, I have had to break one and place it under my tongue, it will deaden your tougue but it goes into the system fast. I have to carry EpiPens, I have three close by. Knowing the complications of anaphylactic shock, I carry them for others and for myself. I have one in my truck, breifcase and survival pack. If you ever have to use one, I have not yet, it is important to head towards the hospital ASAP.
Duckwacher, may God continue to shine on you and bless your family.
Duckwhacker, I'm so glad to hear you're doing better. I've come to look forward to reading your entries about hunting, your family, especially Wingdinger hunting and baseball.
I know exactly what you went thru because I went thru it fifteen years ago. I had just move up here and had been living by myself at the cottage while my wife stayed in Milwaukee 110 miles away preparing our house for selling. I would go home every weekend but the weeks were lonely and boring. We did this for about two months until my wife decided she would take a weeks vacation and spend it up here. First day she was here i was raking leaves when I stirred up some ground bees. One stung me in the chest and within two minutes I was losing control of my legs, not to mention my feet were on fire.
It wasn't your time as it wasn't mine. Since then I have been stung once but the epi pen kept me stablized until my wife got me to the hospital for another overnight stay.
Keep your epi pen with you, not in your truck or in the house. I fashioned a holder out of a brass piece of pipe that hangs on my belt. I tried a leather but I cracked the plastic outside case when I leaned against something.
And again I thank the Almighty One for sparing your life and Wingdinger for heeding the feeling to be with you. You are one of my favorite posters here and I am glad, no I am so happy that you will be with us. Hopefully for a long long time.
Duckwhacker, that was nobody but God! I don't believe in coincidence either, but I do believe God is in full control of everything. He knows who to put in place, and the right time to put them there. Man, it's an awesome thing to see how He looks out for us, and puts loved ones around us to demonstrate His love towards us. Your not a lucky man, but a blessed one. Thank God that He allowed you to see new sunrises, enjoy more hunting opportunities, tell new stories, and the best of all... enjoy the precious moments with the family He's given you. Glad your still with us... in all things give thanks.
Terrance
hey sir, lets talk business
I THINK THIS STORY OPENED A LOT OF EYES , MADE MANY PEOPLE MORE AWARE OF THEIR ENVIROMENT AND HAS NO DOUBT TOUCH THE HEARTS OF MANY OUTDOORSMAN. GLAD YOU ARE OK AND GOD BLESS.
Duckwacker,
One of my coworkers/hunting buddies is extremely allergic to bee stings and carries a pocket sized epipen in his pocket everywhere, whether at work or in the field. He even has made the point to tell us where extras are stashed just in case. I believe his Doc. wrote him a script to get the epipens and he gets new ones every year to be safe. Your story no doubt will influence others to get checked out just to be safe and I believe that God has used you and your son to deliver an important message. I know that as we age our bodies go through changes and things that we were once immune to now affect us. I am the guy my buddies call DOC. because i carry every medicine available just to be prepared. Maybe its because of my training on the job, but I really hate to not have what I need. I plan on picking up some epipens at my next opportunity.
Here are some of the things I carry on duty and in the field:
Benadryl- allergic reactions.. poison ivy/oak etc.
Sudafed
Bonine- (Motion sickness)
Immodium-
Cipro- (Need a script) Strong anti bacterial, used for staph infections and anthrax
Advil
Tylenol
superglue- can be used to seal cuts and scrapes, works great on the water where band-aids are useless.
and a good first aid kit.
everyone be safe and prepared!