This Seed Cracked Me Up!
81No Way To Treat A Lady
I'm a nut lover from way back. All nuts were good, but my favorite was Sunflower Seeds. And, not just any seed, it had to be David & Sons, in the shell. When I was 12, I could crack a sunflower shell, suck out the salt, spit out the shell and eat the seed in less time than you could say "Marisue, what's that in your mouth?"
I would eat bags of them, read romance novels, listen to Dean Martin and think I was in heaven. While others were fainting over the Beatles I was a "square," I'll admit. But, I had big plans for me and Dino..
So, how was I to know, in future years, that a nut and I would have a big disagreement? I had never met a nut I didn't like.
Last year, I developed a new crave. Actually, I've been having many new cravings lately and I blame it entirely on the kids being gone and me having all this idle time. What's a lady to do? Eat more nuts, I say.
While running errands, I stopped in a Gourmet Nut Shoppe. Well, it wasn't chocolate, so that should have been my first clue. When I get to heaven, I'm designing a whole house made of chocolate, all for me. The nut shop was full of....nuts. I couldn't decide.
I walked around, sampling one after another. I settled on a cute little green one. It was crunchy and slightly bitter, but I couldn't stop eating them.
Happy with my purchase and new found craving, I drove back to the office. Within about 20 minutes, I told Lynn I felt like I had a seed stuck in my throat, so I was forced to quit eating the snappy little things. The feeling of the lump in my throat lasted through the night, causing my normal insomnia to go into overdrive. I walked the floor and finally settled on the couch in the living room as Lynn was moaning about me clearing my throat 400 hundred times.
Sheesh! Some people have no tolerance.
The next morning I was better, but still somewhat croaky. I put the nuts in a bag in the refrigerator and forgot about them. A couple of weeks later, I found the nuts - well, you have to understand my refrigerator to understand that remark, but I brought the nuts down to the office for more munching. I mean, a seed stuck in the throat can't happen twice, can it? Naaaaa. And, it didn't.
But, something worse did. Within 2 minutes of swallowing the nut, I had to clear my throat. Within 4 minutes I was hoarsely screaming for Lynn. My eyes were itching, my lips were swelling, my hands were bright red, and I was clawing at my skin, the air, and my throat. I could tell breathing was going to be impossible soon. I ran for the front door and the car, with Lynn close behind.
Down the street, about 5 blocks and 2 traffic lights was an emergency walk-in clinic. Lynn floored the gas pedal and away we went. I never itched so badly in my life. My voice was a high squeak and squeak I did.
I always knew I would not go out of this world quietly.
"I need Benadryl" I croaked. It came out "ah ned thenadil."
Panicking, which, not meaning to brag, I found out I was very good at, I began to wave my hands in the air like a bird taking flight.
"Ok," Lynn yelled. He ran one red light (it's ok, he's a retired cop, he knows about lights) and made a hard right turn into Walgreen's. O, yeah, I had a lot of time for shopping. In a very undignified manner, he ran into the store shouting, "Where's the Benadryl? My wife ate a nut!!"
People stared, he said later. He plucked the box off the shelf and shouted "I'll pay you later...she can't breathe."
Well, if I couldn't breathe, how was I going to swallow a pill? But, we had no time for thinking...I was busy trying to live. Pardon the drama.
He opened the box, popped out a pill and handed it to me. It was difficult picking it up from his hand and I happened to glance in the car mirror as I leaned over for him to drop the pill in my now 4 times it's normal size mouth. My eyes looked as if they were bleeding and I did not recognize my face.
It looked like a red soccer ball. I began to whine and cry, clawing at my hands even though I knew I shouldn't. The tears stung my eyes more, so I had to quit bawling.
I thought "Is this what it feels like to die?" "Stop it!" I told myself. "Breathe, again, swallow." I couldn't swallow nor could I breathe very easily. However, I want to tell you that my life did not pass before my eyes. I was focusing on swallowing, not politically correct, I know, but that's what happened.
I didn't even think of my children...nope, at that moment, I'm ashamed to say it was all about me, baby.
Lynn roared out of the parking lot and it took us 2 hours to get to the emergency clinic. Well, maybe 2 minutes. I staggered in and Lynn tried to tell them what happened. My face was finally worth a thousand words. I finally got the standing ovation most people only dream about. Secretly, of course.
The nurse jumped up and grabbed me, directing me to the back room. Another one accosted Lynn for vital statistics like where I was born and raised, did I get good grades in school and all the important stuff.
As we entered the back room my knees buckled and I slipped into a chair. The nurse was shouting for the doctor and I was beginning to think of needles.
"Fear of needles is good," I told myself. It meant I was still very much alive. The doctor grabbed his stethoscope and listened to my heart, while he requested 2 shots be prepared; one of adrenalin, and one of cortisone. I couldn't speak, but I kept trying until I mumbled "I don't like needles."
The nurse said, "Well, we want you to ease your breathing...so you really don't have a choice, honey, drop your pants."
So much for her bedside manner. Actually, she was trying to grin and I give her credit, I never felt the shots. Course I was rather pre-occupied: scratching, breathing, trying to suck my 3 pound lips back in to a less embarrassing position; things like that.
Lynn magically appeared and said "She ate nuts, I told her to leave them alone, but no, she ate nuts."
"Was I going to get grounded?" I thought. Besides, he did not tell me to leave them alone, and if he had, I'd probably have eaten way more than the four I popped into my mouth right before I shot to the moon. You know, just to show him who's boss. That's important in a relationship, don't you think?
My heart sped up to warp speed within a few minutes, so now I was itching, swelling, burning up, eyes watering and practically bleeding, breathing shallow and worrying about what I looked like. Other than that, it was a pretty good day.
The nurse politely avoided showing shock when she looked at my face and kept patting me on the arm and checking my rash. She glanced at the doctor who nonchalantly ordered another cocktail for me.
I lay back on the bed and moaned "shoot me." They did and again, I didn't even feel the prick of the needles. They must be improved and sharper than they were a few years ago.
I am a woman of few phobias as I've said previously and needles make the short list. (Right up there with spiders, snakes, creepy crawlies, frogs, ants, elevators, and liver and onions, just to name a few.) My breathing was shallow, but steady.
The nurse said the blood pressure was through the roof but coming back for landing. Lynn was looking at me and pacing. He tried to smile.
"Uh, O." I thought again. "I'm' going to get the lecture. Well, he just better not. How was I to know this little seed was going to bite? I've got good radar but I'm not psychic!" It wasn't my fault and that's my story.
I would have pouted but I still couldn't move my lips. I tried to hide. Restless with all the adrenalin in me, I sat up and began to rub my legs, arms, and hands. The nurse pushed me back on the little bed. "Rest!" she commanded. Sure, give a person 2 shots of adrenalin and then say "don't move."
Phones rang. Other problems with other people, I supposed. Misery loves company.
The clock ticked. Clinics shouldn't put clocks in those little cubicles, because the thought that it's your last "tick" does cross your mind. Tick-tick-Tick.
The itching began to ease, but I still had to resist clawing myself to death by the second. After 3 hours of pure misery and mayhem, I came to the decision that I didn't like pumpkin seeds. Nope, not one bite/bit.
May they all die and rot in hell. Go for plastic pumpkins, will ya?
The doctor came over to me, as I got ready to leave, and said "Now that you're better, let me caution you, do not ever eat or handle another pumpkin seed. When you have a reaction like you did, the next one will be worse. It just might kill you."
"Oh." I looked at him. He was serious. In parting, he said, "You are one lucky lady."
Vegas, anyone?
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P.S. I did get the lecture; we did pay for the benadryl; I did itch for 2 weeks.
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Comments
Wow, what a scary experience! Well-told. It's a good thing you reacted quickly and got to the hospital on time. Time has a way of acting differently during experiences like that.
Thank youbob, glad you enjoyed it and thanks so much for stoppin' by to read and comment!! Looking back, it is funny...aren't most things that scare us to death, later? hee hee...=)
wannab, I was really scared...and will never ever eat anothe pumpkin seed!! thanks for stopping by and reading!!
OMG! Please tell me he subscribed an Epipen for you! I totally feel for you. My youngest has peanut allergies and to play it safe, all nuts are banned from her diet. You opened my eyes. She can eat pumpkin bread and pie okay, but I will now keep her away from the pumpkin seeds. We carry an Epipen Jr. for her wherever she goes. It can happen so fast. Glad to see you made it through okay!
He didn't but I'm thinking of getting one; I still eat sunflower seeds, walnuts, but no peanuts or anything, however, I've been exposed to peanut oil..no reaction...
I'm allergic to penicillin and evidently, this had some microscopic mold on it...but, my body will associate the mold with the nut he said....bodies are smart or stupid as the case may be...LOL
anyway I try to think before I eat seeds anymore. Do I realllllly want this seed??
thanks for stoppin' by and reading!!!
You didn't say whether you had eaten pumpkin seeds at an earlier time in your life. My message here for your readers, a message which most of them know already I'm sure, is that you can develop an allergy to something you've eaten all your life---with no warning.
Strawberries for my mother, shell fish for me.
Strawberries, which my mother had eaten forever, finally caught up with her on a vacation in Vermont a few years ago. ER trip, everything OK, but no strawberries for her ever again.
Oysters, which I love and had eaten all my life, caught up with me a mere 20 years ago, during a business lunch. At home the evening after the lunch, I thought I was going to die. The nausea, vomiting, and all that other stuff didn't quit through the night. At dawn, I was at the doctor's office, thankfully alive.
I love your writing style. I swear, I was in the car with you and Lynn. Rock on, Marisue.
I am glad you are okay but, I will say, it sounded awfully funny the way you described it. LOL.
sally! there you are!! good to see you, and no I hadn't eaten pumpkin seeds before, at least not that I remember. I too had heard it can happen anyway. This was funny afterwards....lol I swear I'd be on my deathbed and Lynn would be saying "Now why did you do that??" LOL
I'm bad.
donnalee, it was funny and I'm glad you laughed. that's music to a writer's ears. Thanks for coming by!!
Good one, M. So tragically funny... hilariously tragic?
PS: You're a nut!
Hi Constant....ys, life is the best drama...and it is indeed tragic hahaha
thanks for reading!!!
Well-told story from the nearly-dying patient's perspective, Marisue. You had an Anaphylactic Reaction. This is where the top of your airway literally closes so that no oxygen can get to your lungs. It's not funny. Death will be rapid in such cases unless the airway can be opened stat (immediately).
Next time...and I pray there won't be a next time...you should not even consider walking or being driven to an ER. You need emergency treatment right then and there, as soon as you notice the pruritis (itching), the edema (swelling) in your mouth or throat, the dyspnea (difficulty breathing) and before you start choking to death. THE TREATMENT IS "EPIPEN," a brand of epinephrine (a.k.a. adrenalin) which, now that you know for sure you are sensitized to peanuts, you absolutely must have on hand at all times...being sure to carry one with you wherever you go. The unit is provided as a one-syringe stat injectable which you must not wait to "drop your pants" for (that is how dire ANAPHYLAXIS is). It is meant to be given right through your clothing because there isn't a moment to lose.
There are two versions, one for children under 12, the other (twice the child's dose) for patients 12 and older. IT IS NEVER WISE TO TAKE BENADRYL IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES. First of all, you are in no condition to swallow anything. Not only is your throat closed to breathing oxygen, the edema, inflammation, etc. of this severe and life-threatening allergic reaction also makes swallowing anything - a tablet, water - impossible and an added danger by further irritating the already inflamed pharynx and upper airway.
Not only that, no pill or capsule I know of works immediately, even if by some miracle you managed to get it down. Most oral tablets or capsules will take approximately 30 minutes to even begin to take effect, some longer, rarely only 15 minutes. But even 15 minutes is too long to save the life of a person having the severe Anaphylactic Reaction you suffered. Please remember: The brain cannot be deprived of oxygen for too long, before you lose neurologic viability. After 8 minutes, the brain suffers severely (hypoxia) and even if the heart helps you survive, we'd not be able to revive the brain to its pre-hypoxic state.
You write well, Marisue. But there are chief lessons in your story: (1) Never try to swallow anything during a choking allergic reaction! (2) Never attempt to leave the place where you are at during such an episode to get emergency care. That is TOO LATE. DEATH IS RAPID IN THESE CASES! (3) Always carry an EpiPen with you from now on (your physician should prescribe this for you). Have several at home at all times. Teach whoever is with you (in case you are too incapacitated to perform the injection yourself...usually in the thigh) how to use the EpiPen (which comes with detailed instructions and is simple to use). (4) And NEVER, NEVER, EVER, EVER EAT PEANUTS AGAIN! THEY'RE POISON TO YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM. Nor anything else you know you are allergic to. Also, you should read everything you can get your hands on about peanut allergy and anaphylaxis. AND IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU (don't be cute about this, now) NEVER GO ANYWHERE NEAR PEANUTS AGAIN...NOT THE PEANUT STORE, NOT PEANUTS ON AN AIRPLANE, NOWHERE NEAR PEANUTS because even a whiff in the air or being near someone eating peanuts can send you into the same dangerous oxygen-robbing state you nearly died going through. You indeed are lucky. But, you must follow these instructions to the letter to keep yourself safe from now on.
Finally, since tendencies toward allergies run in families genetically, one's children or grandchildren may be susceptible to allergic responses, maybe not from peanuts but from shellfish, or strawberries, or something else. (EpiPen, half the adult amount in your syringe for kids under 12, would be appropriate if anyone in your family should start to choke after eating something, not from food caught,for that you do the Heimlich maneuver...don't wait more than a second or two to make the decision - epinephrine won't kill anyone who isn't having an anaphylactic reaction, but it is life-saving for someone who is.) Please take this seriously...even though humor, after the fact, is terrific. You're a lucky duck, Helen Borel, RN,PhD
(After reading your hub, Marisue, looks like I wrote enough here, in answer to your experience, to make a follow-up hub to my hub group ASK THE NURSE. So, I'm glad you shared that awful experience of yours here because it inspired me to urgently elaborate on how such an emergency MUST be handled to save a life...the same is true for hymenoptera stings (bees, wasps) which are a forthcoming danger now that summer is arriving here on the East Coast...there is NEVER enough time to travel or walk or be carried to the ER. EpiPen stat!!! No deviation from that prescribed protocol! Ever. -HB
Creativita. Wow!!! I hope Marisuewrites will take this seriously. Again, WOW!
I'm allergic to beer - weird, I know. The reaction is much like that of serious hay fever. I can feel it coming on in my chest, if I drink only one taste. My cousin, who's a beer maker, has been trying to figure out if it's yeast or barley. Personally, I think it's both, or the combination of the two.
PS: Marisue's hub mentioned pumpkin seeds, not peanuts. Does it matter?
Wow. That is freakin' scary. Creativa is right, you should carry a epi pen at all times. My sister has to do it because of a bee sting allergy. Even one could kill her. Your next bout could be too serious to even make it to a hospital. I'm so glad you are ok now--you're way too funny and fun to lose! We need you here marisue. And, no more pumpkin seeds. Chocolate is better for you anyway.
Amen to that!
Food allergies are very scary. Our youngest boy was born with many of them: including peanuts, eggs, and the worst of all, milk. We didn't know this until he was about 12 mos. due to his diet with most of these items banned by his ped. Nevertheless, the milk allergy was the worst, anaphylatic. I'll never forget the time he got some spaghetti sauce (with cheese) on his face and within seconds was grasping for breath. This is not a good sight for any parent. We quickly got the benadryl in him and had the epi-pen ready to fire up when he seemed to calm down. Indeed, your story reminds us all of the dangers of food allergies. We should not take them lightly.
It seems to me that the title is incorrect. It should be, "This Seed Almost Put Me Down."
I am sorry you had to go through this experience. But as the Dalai Lama said, "When you lose, don't lose the lesson." So thanks for sharing the lesson with everyone.
And thanks to Creativita for sharing the proper medical procedure for dealing with such cases.
You both have done a very valuable service.
Whew--maeisue-- that was a close call and your write about it so well and with such good humor. I have a friend whose father died from an allergic reaction to a bee sting and she is allergic to bees too--she always carries and epipen everywhere--summer and winter--and you shoulod too. Thanks for writing about this. It'l spread the word and may save a life.
Creativita! Wow! Thank you for pointing out the dangers and proper procedure for taking care of an allergic reaction! When this happened, we did not have much time to think and made many mistakes...thankfully, it turned out ok.
As a writer,and just a person on the planet, I tend to take serious things and put them into a funny perspective. Please know, I do take it seriously and will stay away from anything pumpkin. I advise all who have allerigies to take Creativita's words to heart. I'm asking my doctor for an epipen next visit! Thankfully, peanuts don't seem to bother me, however, I've decided to leave them alone just to be safe.
Pgundy, Constant, Rob, John, Robie2 --- wow wow and wow, I feel like I have a little group of friends here and I appreciate your concern and kindness....I'll be sticking around buggin' you all for a long time....I appreciate the push towards wisdom and will definitely recommend to all to take allergies seriously. I am more and more aware that I had a very close call...guess I'm here for a reason, huh?
You all are the best!!! thanks so much for being such faithful readers of my ramblings...=) I'm flattered to be in the neighborhood of such talented and gifted writers. mmmm yuuummmm you guys are my chocolate! Marisue
Marisue, if you don't, and carelessly kill yourself, we'll hold a seance -with an actual ouija board!- call you back from the great beyond, and go, "A - HA!!!"
And, I will haunt you forever, causing horrible allergic reactions to everything you eat. hahahaha so there. but thanks for caring !!!!
Not scary... all I'd have to do is hang a bag of pumpkin seeds on the door. And keep little pumpkins in all the windows...
And you would, wouldn't you!!! OK OK OK I give up....I'll stick around Please not the pumpkin seeds....ahhhhhh
You told this story so wonderfully and gave the reader everything from the very serious to the funny.
I am very glad that you are ok and avoiding pumpkin seeds!
Thank you for the interesting reading enclosed with a lesson!
Carol
cvaughn, isn't it "funny" that life's most serious moments -- when we look back -- are often hilarious. While the Dr did ask me to take benadryl for about 10 days following this....I just needed to get to the dr while i had the problem...not be bamking pitt stops along the way !! LOL Thanks so much for reading and commenting..=)
Marisue, not only would I do it, but I'd paint cute little mocking faces on the pumpkins, too!
no no i can't take it anymore....I'm switching to almonds
Yes, switch to safer nuts and definitely get an Epipen! You never know when you might eat something that has ingredients that you cannot tolerate! I saw it happen to a work colleague at a retreat a few years ago. He was always so careful, but picked up an appetizer, and spent the rest of the weekend in the hospital. Be very careful with nuts!
Thanx Everyone, for your support about Epinephrine (Adrenalin) to have on-hand for people known to be highly allergic to nuts and bee/wasp stings...and etc.
Sorry, Marisue, I just went on-and-on about "peanuts" (not realizing you were talking about pumpkin seeds) because, at one point in your piece, I became so alarmed about how your ANAPHYLACTIC REACTION was - sorry to have to put it this way - mishandled initially, that I just started to give my nursing admonitions without looking back at the rest of your piece until after I'd submitted my comments. That's how serious your condition was as soon as the swelling and other symptoms started.
I'm glad you'll be keeping EpiPen on hand from now on. It's great to know everyone is taking this Anaphylaxis immediacy treatment advice seriously.
And, Constant Walker, if you don't know whether you are allergic to yeast or barley, the wise thing would be to stay away from both (not just in beer, you know). It's in breads, soups, etc., etc. You could check it out with an Allergist (an M.D. specializing in immune/allergy conditions). I don't know if there's a specific test, or a scratch test (done on the arm with various allergens) to isolate what substances will produce a reaction. If there is a test for yeast, and one for barley, good. Get 'er done!
But, I suggest you go through a battery of tests by the Allergist. Because, unfortunately, allergic people (and especially allergic folks who also have asthma) are sensitive to many different kinds of allergens - airborne (not easy to see), foods (not easy to know in advance of eating new foods), dust mites (microscopic in size), roach droppings (microscopic), tobacco (from other people smoking, or if you smoke), chemically-treated products (like flame-retardant clothes, pesticide-treated furniture, et al.)
Just to keep things simple: The cardinal rule for preventing illnesses (rashes, itching, swollen areas, and the ultimate life-threatening conditions: Asthmatic attacks a.k.a. bronchospasms and Anaphylaxis is AVOIDANCE OF ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU KNOW YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO!!! Only second best is treating the rashes, respiratory crises, and imminent choking-to-death after the fact.
Hey, guys, I just came up with an easy-to-remember acronym: AAAP-AA = Allergy, Asthma, Anaphylaxis Prevention - AVOID ALLERGENS
Here's to everyone's Good Health. Creativita
Oh my gosh, I laughed until I cried.
I once had a similar predicament. My throat closed up and when in the emergancy room nothing worked to get it to stop the swelling they had to put me on a resperator. I'm sure it was a reaction to something, but they never figured it out. Having those same thought as you, that I might actually not live through it, I found I had done all of my spiritual work and had formed a definite believe - found I was not afraid to die (who'd a known?).
creativita, your knowledge is so much appreciated -- you are very caring and informative,
Karen Ellis...I'm so glad you enjoyed the story, tho scarey --- it truly was funny after everything turned out ok. And, during the process...my thoughts were just as I described, which, was even funnier when you realize I was on the edge of death and didn't even realize it and you must flip into denial or something as I was thinking "Oh no, they're going to stick me with that needle" instead of "please stick me with that needle....and save my life...." and i was so worried about my face and the way I looked...and the itching was making me angry....
ha...not at all the way I 'd picture dying so gracefully and well groomed, -- like in the movies.....ah....and a pretty little faint and your gone. nope, it will be upchucking and laughing at people around me when I go out "life's door...." Unless I'm bleeding...THEN, I'll be really mad.
thanks for reading!!!!
and you're so right, in the scarey moments we're talking to God, believers or non-believers I think would do that....at least I did, but I was also saying being sassy mentally even in that moment.
steph...yes I'm going to get that pen....I've heard some really scarey stories about close calls from lots of people with allergies...I had no idea....
I'm allergic to penicillin....and have no memory of another close call I had as a 5 year old, but my parents told me often about it.
thanx so much for reading!!
*applauds*
I just love it when a person can look back on an event that was probably horrifying, frightening, heartbreaking or downright tragic and can still find humor in it somewhere.
You had me on the edge of my seat...and laughing. Nicely done!
spryte, what a cute screenname for Hub, and thank you for enjoying my story!! Please come back and read more! =)
marisue, thank goodness everything turned out ok in the end, it is good that you can laugh about it now and that you can share your experience with us here.
take real good care and remember to watch what you eat on halloween lol.....jimmy
Hi Jimmy, I crave trail mix all the time, now that it's forbidden fruit. LOL Thanks for reading and commenting, come back soon! =)
working
Bob Ewing says:
4 months ago
Sorry to laugh at your serious encounter with the evil pumpkin seed but that was a funny telling of a possibly tragic story.