Arrived to pick up grandchildren in record time so I snagged them and pushed on to my mother's so the grand kids could have Great Grammy time. Brothers were both there and researching various plants for medicinal purposes. That was a pleasant surprise and right down my alley so I jumped in and began helping them. During a break, brother "B" asked me to try some fried cactus. Just harmless little sliver and much to my surprise it was really good. Sort of like a cross between a fried morel, fried green tomato and fried squash. It was very tasty but I just ate the one little piece. Next brother "B" brought me a green leaf to taste. It turned out to be a dandelion leaf. For me it was too bitter. ick! But I know Dandelion is a wonder weed so if I were going to use it, I'm sure there are ways to deal with the bitter.
From there I had conversations with brother "G" regarding his virgin organic coconut oil. We researched all the possible uses for it and ran across how people put it in coffee. So, I did that thinking it would taste grand. It was nothing to write home about -- there are other recipes that I would have tried if not for the problem that came next. I didn't get to drink much of the coffee because grand kids were trying to settle down to a nap and I was trying to lay with them to get them to drop off. And that is when it hit me. A tingly on the top of my ear that branched out to the inside of my ear, then my jaw, eyes and lips and tongue. I sat up thinking oh, god, not again! Yes, again. My whole body became hot and fiery with itching beyond endurance. My tongue got thick and I began to have difficulty talking and breathing. I think the breathing issues were related to possible hyperventilation from my panic. But after getting checked in at the ER, the doc told me that taking the 5 benadryl tablets probably saved my life. Whew! By this time it was easy to see by my lobster color and raised red rash all over speckled with angry welts that I was in deep trouble. I was rushed into ER and immediately put on drips of various medications to stop the hiving process. I could literally feel the medicine swoosh over my entire body and it sent a shock wave of sort through me. My swollen bright red feet had immediately relief as I saw them slowly change to patches of normal flesh like islands in an angry sea of red blotches.
I slept for 3 hours. All in all, I had 175 mg of Benadryl in me, plus whatever was in the drips. I dropped into sleep and knew nothing of my surroundings for the rest of the time I was in hospital which was 3 hours. The doc said it was severe enough that it warranted admitting me for a hospital stay to be monitored. The reason he gave for not doing it was because the symptoms seemed to be partially arrested by the benedryl I had taken and that he believed it could be dealt with as an outpatient situation BUT that if I had any more issues whatsoever that I needed to check in immediately.
Got some scripts and now life moves on. I do have to go to an allergist thought and pin down the problem item that triggers these attacks. My life could depend on it.
And there we have it, the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly on Day 25 Count Down to Funky 55.
Bright Blessings and Blessed Be!
Rayven Michaels
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