Assassinated!

I've been assassinated! No I'm not dead and I'm not communicating from the beyond, but I was assassinated today! While trying set up new accommodations for our broody hen, Beach Bunny, I was moving a wire cage and felt a sharp pain on my hand. At first I thought I had poked myself with one of the sharp points of the chicken wire, but I did not see a cut or any blood. So after about 10 seconds and the pain becoming quite a bit worse, closer inspection revealed a red spot beginning to appear. YEOW!!! Now it's really hurting... Stinging, burning, numb-tingly sensation radiating from the red site. MAMA MIA!!!! OOCHY OUWY!!!

Still not knowing exactly what happened I began to look around where my hands were placed on the wire cage and sure enough, there was a strange bug I'd never seen before. At this point the paint was getting worse and I needed relief, so I ran inside, rinsed the site and applied Benadryl. The area near the site had become red and blotchy and was spreading, so I started to become concerned that what ever it was that bit me might be dangerous! So I ran outside with my camera, took pictures of the assailant and sent them via e-mail to my mom, stepdad and Dean in an effort to identify and determine its threat.

Dean was the first to respond, "Don't panic, but it's called an Assassin Bug!!!".



WHAT?!! IS IT DANGEROUS? My heart began to race. He said it's also called a wheel bug (Arilus cristatus) and as long as I do not have any reaction to its bite (more like a puncture!) I should not require medical treatment, but to be on the safe side taking an antihistamine probably wouldn't hurt (in case I have an adverse reaction or break out in hives or something). EEK!!!

The site he read me stated that its sting was way worse than a bad bee or wasp sting, and boy were they right! Even now it feels as it there is a needle poking in my hand and from my wrist to the tip of my pinky feels all strange and tingly. Luckily I have a pretty high tolerance for pain or I'd be balling at this point and the kids would be panicking. So at the urging of my mom, Harrison and Dean, and in an effort to avoid any other reactions, I decided to go ahead and take an antihistamine. Benadryl knocks me out, so instead I took some liquid Zyrtec that Maya had been given for a seasonal allergy attack last Spring.

About this time my mom shows up to help me get lunch on the table for the kids, YEA! I was glad to have her come over because at this point I didn't feel up to doing much more.

Now I'm feel groggy and tingly, but the redness has stopped spreading and the pain has started to subside, after about an hour!!! Hopefully I'll have no other reactions and the site will heal quickly... several sites said it could take up to half a year to heal! The heck with that! I applied a good dose of Tea Tree oil, it always does wonders.

So here's to surviving an assassination attempt and to bugs with cool names! Next time I'll be more careful where I place my hands!