As three nurses and a doctor attended to my husband, John in urgent care yesterday afternoon, “I’m only good for one near miss a day” spoken by Kathryn Hepburn, playing the part of Ethel in the movie On Golden Pond, echoed in my mind.

In my almost 34 years of marriage to John, I don’t recall ever hearing or seeing him as scared as I did yesterday. I’d just gotten out of my dentist appointment late afternoon to hear his shaking voice in a voicemail to call him as soon as possible. He’d been stung by a bee, he said.

It was the panic I heard in his voice that I knew something was quite wrong. I prayed he would pick up as I heard three long rings on the other end before he answered.

John tried to tell me the how of the bee stinging him, but I urgently interrupted, “What are your symptoms?!” He told me his whole body itched, even the bottom of his feet, he had huge welts under his arms, down the sides of his chest, his lower abdomen, and on his butt and back of thighs. He also said his throat felt funny.

“You need to get to urgent care now,” I said. “This isn’t something to mess with. It’s serious. I’m on my way and I’ll meet you there.” 

My heart raced as I tried not to speed down the highway. When I arrived he was just being admitted. His face was drained of color and his eyes were wide with fear not knowing what was really happening. While I walked back to the exam room with him, I had to then go back to the receptionist desk and complete the serious of questions they ask and submit insurance card, before I could go back and be with him.

They injected him with a steroid and hooked him up to IV fluids as they had him lie back and try to relax to help his blood pressure and heart rate return to normal, which was quite high.

It wasn’t a yellow jacket wasp that stung him, but rather a black wasp that likes to hang out around his dump trailer he uses to haul away old wood, etc. from construction projects he works on. One had built a nest in the corner of the trailer, which he didn’t know and when he walked by, it flew out, stung him, and flew on. In the blink of an eye and fifteen minutes later John was experiencing a severe reaction.

He never had a reaction like this before. While one can develop an allergy to bee stings at any point in life, the doctor felt we still need to be cautious if he is stung again, but no need at this point for an EPI pen. He instructed that John take two Benadryl right away if stung again, while the nurse suggested to add to that to drive to the nearest urgent care and even if you just hang out in the parking lot, to be nearby in case the Benadryl isn’t enough. So that is our plan at this point.

But as I sat there in the exam room watching the drip, drip, drip of the IV fluid, and the needle in his arm, and his eyes closed, trying to rest in-between nurses and doctor coming in and out, a scene from On Golden Pond played out in my mind.

Norm, played by Henry Fonda, who was known to be an ornery cuss now and then, carrying out a box of old dishes, was a bit too much for his heart that suffered from angina. He felt a spike of pain run through his heart from the strain of the heavy load he was carrying. He drops the dishes and Ethel springs to action, gets him a pill, puts it under his tongue and within a few moments, Norm is feeling better again.

But it’s that hanging-in-the balance moment where the truth of life is revealed. As your life flashes before your eyes and you pray for more time to be with the one you love deeply. Even if they are an old ornery cuss as Norm could be.

John does not happen to be an ornery cuss, though a bit stubborn at times,  yes. But then again, I can be too. But in those moments of fully living in the unknown, all there was was this immense love I have for John. Everything else faded away. It didn’t matter the times he upset me or the disagreements we’ve had. I just wanted to be assured I’d have much more time with him to hug him and tell him many more times what he means to me. 

After an hour and a half of monitoring, John’s blood pressure, heart rate, and color to his face returned to normal – and the welts were gone. That place of fragile suspense now gone and prayers of gratitude flooded my heart.

And with the dawn of a new day, comes more clarity once again of what truly matters. And my love for My Johnnie, as I often refer to him, was granted a new depth of which I am very grateful for.

While I did share with him that this line from Kathryn echoed in my mind, I changed it a bit last night as we hung out in the kitchen recalling the event of the afternoon, as a pizza baked in the oven. I said, “Just so you know – I’m only good for one near miss a year – not a day.”  

That was a close enough call for me for a long time, please.

P.S. After I got done writing this post, I realized I’v had my skort on backwards all morning. Guess I’ve not quite come back down to earth. Life has a way of bringing laughter to scary times now too, does it not?  🙂

Wishing each of you a safe and Happy 4th!

XO,

Barbara