Pharmaceuticals

We were so looking forward to this past weekend.
For the first time in weeks,  (and the last time for weeks)
we had nothing scheduled.
We planned to spend the weekend here at home enjoying the farm.
The weather was cooler and perfect... we couldn't have asked for a better weekend at home.


What is that saying about the "best laid plans of mice and men"?
I don't know about the mice around here, but the men....
Geesh!


Saturday morning Hubbs decided to cut down a very old pussy willow
that had grown tree-sized and was hanging over a few of our solar panels on the
far side of the house.


He also planned on taking a long bike ride following that chore.

Meanwhile, I was doing a little sewing... making a purse.
I needed to run to my favorite fabric shop in a nearby town and planned on
meeting Hubbs there at the completion of his bike ride.


And then...

Apparently a hornet had made its nest inside a birdhouse that hung from the pussy willow.
When the tree fell to the ground and the birdhouse fell along with it,
said hornet became enraged and took it out on the top of Hubbs' head.
Now, Hubbs is severely allergic to honeybee stings (the reason why we no longer have bees),
but never tested positive for hornets.
Until Saturday.
(Because he is highly allergic to honeybees, we keep Epi pens and all of the other
bee sting medications on hand at all times.)

Within a matter of minutes, his face was swollen 
(eyes and nose looked like Shrek)
and his tongue was beginning to swell.
We went through the regimen of medications to no avail.
The next step was a call to 911 and an ambulance was dispatched.

Before the ambulance arrived, Hubbs got a little "wheezy" when he breathed,
so I gave him another dose of the Epi pen.
Things got a little scary at this point.
Because we are so rural, it takes a while for the ambulance to arrive.
Luckily, he started to improve by the time the ambulance and paramedic arrived.
In the end, we were able to skip the ride to the hospital...
as his symptoms finally abated.

This is the third anaphylactic episode Hubbs has had in the past few years...
so this wasn't our first rodeo.
Still.... it was a little scary all the same.


Sunday was much calmer.
But since the theme of the weekend had become pharmaceutical,
Dr. Becky came down and vaccinated the horses, donkeys and pigs.

Vaccinating our horses is a piece of cake.


They stand still, very well-mannered, and take their injections without any fuss
(followed with a peppermint treat, of course.)


Vaccinating pigs is a whole other story itself.
Pigs do not like injections...
so it takes two grown men to hold them still (one pig at a time)
in the corner of their house while Dr. Becky injects their very tough
pigskin behinds.
And the sound... well, the sound they make is something akin to 
the hounds of hell.
It's awful.  AWFUL!


Once it's over, though, all is forgiven and they get down to the task of eating their breakfast.
Luckily, for all the screaming, squealing and fussing that they do, 
pigs do not hold grudges.
Thank goodness!

Black Sammie (Our Littles' dog) is staying at the farm for the upcoming week.
It's Sammie's yearly farm vacation.
He's quite happy to be here and is my constant shadow.


Most likely after all the goings on this weekend,
Sammie thinks this is a pretty weird place to live.

Tune in tomorrow for an amazing nature video!!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Scary? Terrifying!

So glad your husband is ok now.

Julia
colleen said…
Oh my gosh, how scary. So glad a ride to the hospital wasn't necessary.
I'll be waiting for a picture of your latest purse.
jaz@octoberfarm said…
i am equally as allergic. poor hubs! lucky to have a wife that knows her way around a syringe!
Anonymous said…
How scary for you both, glad he is ok!
Kathy said…
Relieved that there was a happy ending!
Unknown said…
Well if you two medical professionals were scared ....then the rest of us would have been freaked out at a whole other level! So thankful you were prepared, need to restock quick. Praying you have an uneventful week! Lisa G in TN
daisy g said…
What an ordeal! Thankful that you were prepared.
littlemancat said…
So glad Hubbs is ok and that you were well able to handle it. Sounds terrifying to me!
Mary
Wanda Devers said…
So glad he's ok. Thank goodness for the epi pens. Those hornets are devils--I had one attack me & just dive bombed, stinging me three times. EMT's absolutely saved me this June! I did have to go to the hospital, alive due to their expertise. They are my heroes forever.
Teresa said…
That is scary! Glad you had the epi pens.
Karla Kuriger said…
WOW, scary is right. That is one of the downsides to rural living, being so far from first responders. Thank God you're a nurse, and have been trained to be calm and take necessary action! I imagine your Hubs is calm, too. Being prepared is key, and you two are the epitome of prepared. SO glad the outcome was good!
I have been stung by hornets and it feels like you have been shot. They build a nest at the corner of my garage every year. I think God made a mistake when he made hornets. I just don't see any use for them at all. Poor Hubbs. Good thing you had those epi pens. Hope his head is better.
This N That said…
Oh my..SO glad that Jack is OK and that you were there..Definitely scary..SO much for an uneventful weekend..xxoo
Leanna said…
Bee or hornet stings allergies are not a fun thing to go through. I'm also allergic and have to be on the alert in the summer months. David pretty much keeps on top of the hornet situation by spraying nests as soon as they build them. Good thing you keep several epi-pens around. How is your husband now?
Karen said…
Well now you know your husband can't handle hornets either - SO happy all turned out well! Back to work . . . .:)
Leslye said…
Poor hubs and also for your stress.I guess that wasn't your plan for a nice quiet weekend.Glad all is well.
Dee J. Hartman said…
Wow! What a Weekend!!!
Lynne said…
Oh dear . . . scary!
Happy things calmed and an ER visit was put on the back burner.
Darn allergies . . .
Liked your “pharmaceutical weekend” title . . ,
I can just imagine those piggy screams!
Keep those epi pens close by.
Hope your hubs doesn’t meet any more of the buzzing bees.
deodar said…
Last year at vaccination time my Kune Kune barrow, Percival got away from us. It was hilarious, myself, the vet and her vet tech high tailing it trying to catch a very speedy pig! This year a generous scattering of Cheerios in the corner provided enough distraction.