Thursday, June 23, 2016

YEP !!! MAMA SAID THERE 'D BE DAYS LIKE THIS

This day actually started just before midnight last night as I got ready to take my relaxing soak in the tub before bed.  Looking up at me from inside the tub was the culprit who has my right breast all red and swollen.
A classic Brown Recluse Spider !!!  Yikes !!! 
I woke hubbie from his slumber to verify by a pic I had pulled up on my phone that this was indeed a Brown Recluse. 
He mashed it so we could get an even closer look and left no doubt. I figured this little bugger had somehow gotten under my clothes on Monday evening and bit me then somehow managed to hide (and thankfully not bite anymore) until I dropped my clothes into the dirty clothes hamper beside the tub. I guess he crawled into the tub looking for water.
Anyway this made my suspicions spot on for a spider bite on my breast.
The spider was much larger than I had imagined the Brown recluse being ,about the size of a penny total and it made me wonder how I didn't feel it crawling on me.
knowing now for sure what bit me I soaked a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar and taped it over the bite before I went to bed.   I had a very fitful night while feeling imaginary spiders crawling all over me at times.
I got up at the regular alarm time this morning and called the doctor to ask if they had any openings for later today. They didn't have anything today or tomorrow but they did have a walk in clinic all day both days . This clinic is in east Asheville and with my schedule today that's not happening. They suggested I go to the minit clinic in town.
This was one of those mornings even without g-daughter here today that I just couldn't get things going on time.
I arrived at market about 10 minutes late to several customers waiting.
I sold pretty well with the few folks that came through and when the temperature reached 93 degrees shortly after noon the market  was completely empty of customers and almost all sellers had escaped the stifling heat in there.
I packed up and went to run errands at the bank and PO then I headed for the minit clinic. When I arrived it was 2:00 and the sign said her lunch was until 2:30. I went ahead and signed in on the computer and then went to Aldi which happened to be across the street to do my shopping there.
I was the only patient she had when I got back and was soon called back into her office.
When I showed her the bite she pulled the skin tight and the two small fang marks were very evident as they had black dots in the center of little blisters.
She then preceded to call doctors to get advice on how to treat me.
I ended up with a boat load of meds to take over the next ten days.
Bactrim and Keflex plus another one pill to ward off some of the side effects of these strong meds.
She said this is a typical mursa treatment but that is what the venon of this spider could cause.
As I was paying the pharmacist for the meds she asked if I had a spider bite. When she heard about the Brown recluse she told me to get some "Comfrey Sauve" , she said that was especially effective on this spiders bite and that her daughter had gotten bitten badly and used that instead of antibiotics and was cured in just a few days. I am definitely going to get some of this sauve since I have no idea if this spider was inside my house or outside when I picked him up.
After I left CVS I didn't have time to stop anywhere else before getting home to unload before taking Bernie (the 4-legged kid) to the vet for his annual heart check.
Hubbie came in just as I was finishing unloading and we grabbed Bernie and headed for the vet.
Seems all my dogs have an instinct that tells them when they are at the vet and he shivered all the way there and was not happy at all.
Bad news for Bernie as she x-rayed his heart hoping that the meds he is on had shrank it but it was actually larger and his heart murmur was the worst she had ever heard . Poor Bernie was struggling to breath with all the handling and she gave him an injection to calm him down and said to up his Lasix to 2 pills a day from 1 to help clear the fluid from around his heart.
Bernie was like a drunk by the time we got him home and slept peacefully all evening.
I ate supper then hurried again through chores to wait for daughter to pick me up for her wedding dress alterations.
We went over to Re's because she has a new sewing machine and it works much better than mine plus she is much more patient with these type things than I am.
D-in-love met us there to work on gluing the wedding programs together while we worked.
G-daughter got fussy after a little while and she had to leave.
Re, Aa (who was so patient and held the mirror for what seemed like hours), daughter and I snipped and sewed and came up with a dress train pin up plan at almost 11:00pm.
Another item crossed off the quickly shortening list !!!
Whew !!!!  How good it felt to get in the tub (no spiders tonight) and fall into bed after this busy day!
And yes this is written on Friday and backdated !!!
Even on days like today when I loose my focus on God I can feel His presence and see His love as I watched the vet soothe Bernie's fears and sign off on the vaccines he was supposed to have before they would board him while we are on vacation and I then later I watched interactions between Re, daughter and d-in-love as they all worked together to make daughter's day special. God's love and blessings are humbling experiences every day for me.
God Bless and Good Night