Monday, March 28, 2011

It's better in the Bahamas

It's 4:19 am when my 13 year old son comes into our room hysterically crying and not making any sense whatsoever. We have no idea what is going on because he is unable to get a grip or explain anything to us.  After ascertaining that he is not in some waking terror state, my mind goes to places dark and scary and I imagine someone has entered the house and flashed him or something.....  I bolt out of bed to check the place out when he says I can't explain it, it"s just really scary and itchy.  Itchy?  What you talking about boy?  He pulls down his shirt from his shoulder and there is what looks like a spider bite.  It's just a bite, Bud, I say and administer cortisone cream.  It continues to get read and swell.  I give him benedryl.  He's crying in pain. He's still hysterical.  I go to survey the room situation, ripping off sheets and looking under and behind the bed.  Nothing.  The little culprit has hit the road.  Good thing, because i was going to smash it to smithereens.  I go back into the bathroom where my sweet son has ripped off his clothing and is screaming because his welt is painful and growing.  My husband tells him to get it together and put his clothes back on.  He reaches for his shirt, and as he lifts it, a CENTIPEDE falls to the bathroom floor.  It is 3 inches long and very much alive.  At this point, The poor boy is panicked beyond  belief... Am I going to die?  I don't know.  Are they toxic?  I don't know?  Should i call 911?  Is it even 911 that you call here?  Are the hospitals and clinics closed after 10 pm...like everything else here? He has 3 bites on his body...one on his weenie...swelling, red, painful. All I can say is, thank god for google....   I googled 'centipede bites' and to my DELIGHT found out that they are extremely painful, but not toxic....usually.  Whew.  We'll just watch him. After a serious counseling session and an entire cleaning of a the room, we finally convince Dylan that this is a once in a lifetime thing...that he can rest easy....to go to sleep and not think about bugs crawling up and down his body bitting him... He finally gets into bed with his sister and sleeps there.  Tonight he is sleeping with me.  Sigh. This is only day 1.....

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