I was recently cruising up to beautiful Hyatt Lake, windows rolled all the way down in my Jeep, sun on my face, loving life, when I felt something hit my face and then a sharp sting in the area right between my nose and the top of my lip. My eyes immediately began watering and I could feel a stinger which Jeff kindly pulled out.
After about 5 minutes, all seemed fine, so we proceeded on our merry way. Only after about 8 hours, did I feel a soreness in my jaw, which I, of course, ignored. The next morning, the entire right side of my face looked like I'd been in a boxing match.
I figured the swelling would go away, so I put ice on the area and stayed on the couch, downing Advil. Day 3 came and my face was still out of whack--my lips were getting pretty huge (a la Brittany Murphy in the 
picture here) and the swelling was creeping towards more right eye. I felt like The Elephant Girl or as Richie so kindly put it later "...I am not an animal!."
So it was off to Valley Immediate Care in Medford which actually turned out to be quick and professional, although points must be deducted for having to endure Fox News while I waited. After about one minute of their blather, I started to worry the doctor would have to treat me for bleeding ears in addition to my swollen face.
The doctor informed me that she'd seen quite a few Yellowjacket stings this summer and recommended I take antibiotics. It seems Yellowjackets (which are wasps, not bees) feast on lots of different goodies, including rotted meat, so when one stings you, it is possible to get a nasty skin infection and I was obviously a bit allergic besides.
After a couple days of antibiotics and Claritin, the crisis was over and I no longer felt like the sister of Joseph Merrick. I am embarrassed to say how vain I was during this whole incident. What a wimp I am. The few places I went, I felt like everyone was staring at me and I just wanted to put a bag over my face.
I feel lucky anyway. I could have been one of the 100 or so Americans who die every year from allergic reactions to insect stings.
Living in the middle of nowhere is risky business, my friends. And they said NYC was dangerous...
