“So this is It…? … THIS is how i’m gonna die? Naked in a Sri Lankan squatter toilet stall at the hospital, drenched in sweat, slumped up against the back wall while some kind of vaporous trash compactor works my abdomen and lower back on overdrive, like being crushed by a mirage. The whole of my back and neck an Ant’s Manifesto is written in a Braille of hives, a hole or a bucket at either end of me… Wracked with pain, palms scarlet red and feel like they’ve been boiled in chili oil, whole body crawling with itch and hyperventilating so badly that I am pins and needles up to my elbows and knees… Could there be a less dignified way to go?”
Yeah, so it turns out I am QUITE allergic to one of the 7 Sri Lankan ant varieties, at least when they attack en masse (I counted 27 bites on my feet alone, but not all are from ants…just the ones that are blistering…). Apparently the toxin from these little suckers goes straight to the kidneys, thus, I presume the crushing back and womb-ish pain. So… my first experience with anaphylactic shock… Check that off the list as the closest I ever want to get to Hell. Eventually the hydrocortisone injection and the tramadol and the topical pain killer worked enough that I could hobble out of the clinic draped over Dinesh’s brother-in-law and friend, into the back of the jeep with D’s mom stroking my hand, and home into bed with a paw full of pills to take for several days. Wow. I honestly can’t remember a time in my life when I’ve been more scared (my family’s history of medical treatment in developing countries ringing like an alarm in the back of my mind). If I weren’t a practiced meditator who can focus their breathing, I really don’t know what would’ve happened…I guess maybe one just passes out or something? Anyway, it’s certainly Interesting to observe one’s mind in such a panicked fear state… yes, well, godspeed boring, thank you very much!!!
2 Comments
Paula
9/24/2016 09:36:19 am
Oh Shannon!
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Rochelle kushin
9/25/2016 12:57:12 pm
Wow Shannon!
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