The Human Fly. Spider-man. Mary Nicholas.
The list of superheroes powered by bugs goes on and on. Well, okay – admittedly, we haven’t seen any changes in Mary since her run in with a wasp , but we’ve been monitoring her closely for any new wasp-like powers.
I think the flying, stinging sort are on to us, because they came after me, too! Last month, on a Friday, I was doing some maintenance on my backyard pool in preparation for out-of-town visitors. I set the cleaning supplies down hard on a bench, just to get them out of my hands. Little did I know that yellow jackets had made themselves a home underneath the bench, and they did not appreciate my knocking at their door! One of them went a little farther than just telling me about it, and I hobbled away with a yellow jacket sting atop my right foot.
Now, I’ve been stung by a yellow jacket before, so I didn’t think much of it. I had plenty to get done (including standing all night playing guitar at a gig), so I hobbled around and got ‘er done despite some mild swelling. I woke up the next morning with my foot on fire. Swollen, bruised, the whole nine yards. I spent Sunday elevating it with a bag of ice, hoping the swelling would go down.
But, the pain and swelling went the opposite direction, and at around 7:30PM, I hopped into the urgent care. They took one look at me, and sent me to the emergency room! I was admitted immediately with concern of infection, but thankfully, after more evaluation, cooler heads prevailed and I was sent home to rest, foot elevated above my heart. Try working on a laptop with your feet above your head – it’s not that easy!
In a few days’ time, life went back to normal. I didn’t think about the incident again until I came across this hilarious viral video. This Marine was stung twice in the mouth by wasps, and took to the Internet to explain his own superpower – big, luscious lips without the inconvenience of plastic surgery! The video is going viral with thousands of shares. Poor guy! All because he went looking for his car keys. I swear, these stinging insects are out to get us, and it’s really starting to bug me:
I’ve put the rest of our team on high alert. Meanwhile, Mary and I are staying vigilant in case of repeat attacks! Of course, it could have been worse – at least neither of us got stung in the face!
Don’t bug out this weekend,
~Bob
