Bees, Teeth, and Mommy Instincts

I've always known I'd do anything to help my kids, without hesitation, even if it meant putting myself in harm's way. That's just part of being a mom, right? I've never really had a chance to put it to the test, though, until this past Sunday.

Britain and Emily were playing outside in the backyard. I was in the kitchen and heard Britain start screaming hysterically. He and Emily were running around and appeared to be playing tag or chasing each other. But, as Britain turned, I saw a look of sheer terror on his face. I immediately ran outside to help him, thinking he had stepped in an ant bed. But as I got closer to him, I saw he was being attacked by bees! Emily was 30-40 feet away and appeared to be fine. I immediately began grabbing the bees off of Britain and crushing them between my fingers and hands. There were so many that swatting them away wasn't helping at all - they were just coming right back. Killing them was the only way to stop them from stinging. Jason had also come outside to see what was going on and he was getting attacked as well. Britain and Jason are both very allergic to bees, so I was terrified for them.

We began to try to get back to the house. Jason went inside and got the Benadryl out. The bees were all in Britain's clothes, so I was trying to get his clothes off of him while shepherding him to the back door. I managed to get his shirt off and kill a few more bees, but then Britain started to fall. I caught him, and managed to keep him from falling, but the momentum I used to keep him up caused me to fall. I fell flat on my face, hitting the sidewalk. I heard my tooth crack as I hit the sidewalk.

It all happened so fast, and yet, it felt like it took forever to get inside. Alex helped me get Benadryl into Britain (who was still hysterical). Emily had been stung twice so I gave her Benadryl as well. I put Britain in the shower to make sure all the bees were off of him, then went back to the kitchen. We had come in the sliding door and we let a lot of bees in with us. I killed at least 40 bees within minutes of being inside. I went to check on Jason. He had run back to the bedroom, since he had already been stung dozens of times and couldn't risk being stung anymore. When I opened the door, Jason yelled that I was letting bees in. They were all over me. I had been so busy killing them on the counter, in the air, and on the windows that I never even noticed they were all in my hair and inside my clothes. Jason rescued Jaxon (who had been sleeping) from the room and I began killing more bees. I have never seen so many bees before. I killed another 30 bees and finally got them out of my hair and clothes.  

Britain was still hysterical, and so after getting him out of the shower, I examined him to see if he needed to go to the emergency room. A quick check revealed only 4 stings, which was nothing short of a miracle considering how many bees were all over him when I reached him. I still don't know how he managed to avoid being stung more than that. A quick call to the doctor confirmed that Benadryl was enough for him & Emily. They were both okay the next morning. Jason has large red welts where he received multiple stings close together in some areas. 

It wasn't until later that we realized these were yellowjackets. Apparently, Jason and Britain are not allergic to yellowjackets like they are to honeybees. This is what saved Jason, since the number of stings he received would have landed him in the hospital had they been honeybees.

Reflecting back on this, I've realized how my mommy instincts kicked in for this situation. I don't like to go outside without shoes on. We have chickens in the backyard who poop everywhere. But I flew out the door without even thinking about putting on shoes. I don't like to kill bugs. I usually call Jason to handle that. I definitely don't kill bugs with my hands! Ever. But I killed scores of yellowjackets with my bare hands, not even thinking that they might sting me. I was just in the mode of "Must Save Britain" and completely unfocused on saving myself (as evidenced by the fact that I was still being stung even after everyone else was safe and dosed with Benadryl). 

I ended up with dozens of stings. I have stings on the ends of almost all of my fingers, all over my hands, my chest, my hips, back, and legs. I broke my tooth and busted my chin, lip, and knee when I fell. I look like I've been in a fight...and lost. My tooth...well, my tooth is bad. 

All banged up

I saw the dentist today and he said my tooth had been crushed to the bone. It will have to be removed later this week. I'll get a temporary tooth, and later, a permanent fake tooth as a replacement. For now, the dentist was able to remove the nerve so I'm not in pain anymore. He also fashioned a temporary fix to make my tooth look more normal until I can get to the oral surgeon for the extraction. 

I'm not looking forward to this process :(