This blog has been temporarily suspended due to the author being in the middle of a near death experience.
Though not Ebola, the author accepted into her bloodstream a severe dose of Poison Sumac, an element that she is quite familiar with, as it plagued her already-awkward tween years with large, weeping mounds of burning, itching, raw meat where her skin once was.
In other words, Rachel has contracted a Flesh-Eating Bacteria.
Okay it’s not a bacteria but it might as well be. Because Sumac considers Rachel to be the greatest feast in the world. It is currently munching around her eyes and in her nose, ears, and other randomly chosen points of interest.
Too much information?
That could be a side effect of her complete lack of sleep and steroid/Benadryl haze.
To exacerbate her situation, her son decided to bless her at the beginning of the week with an all-night party hosted by DJ Croup, every project in her life converged into needing to be finished this week, she must finish creating several fantastic Halloween costumes for Trunk and Treat tomorrow night, and she has not yet recovered her house from the onslaught that is unpacking after a camping trip.
A camping trip that…you got it, brought her and Poison Sumac together again. Which means that unpacking all of those poison-ridden clothes may very well be the end of Rachel as we know her.
But she’ll have a pretty dang realistic Halloween costume. If you’re into flesh-eaten zombies.
Ouch!
But I totally want to see that costume!
Were you camping in a swamp? Where did you get into sumac?
We went on a three mile hike – I’m assuming I got it there? And no, we were in North Alabama. But Sumac is attracted to my body if anywhere within a 500 mile radius of it.
I am so sorry! I have that type of reaction to poison ivy. It’s terrible! The first time I got it the doctor didn’t even believe it was poison ivy because the reaction was so severe. I avoid the woods like the plague now. It’s also a great excuse not to work in the yard :)
I do kind of wonder if mine is an extreme reaction to ivy since sumac is so rare. But it’s so different than anyone else’s poison ivy… I have no idea. I just know I hate it.
oh i get that way from poison ivy… and any tiny cut or scrape i get for months afterwards ends up being surrounded by a fresh batch… like it lies in wait in my blood stream waiting to pounce upon exposure to oxygen … gah!!!! Hope you get it under control soon!
Yup – that’s still happening to me. My sides are all itchy now. :-(
oh rachel – you have my sympathies! i got poison sumac last year and the blistering welts nearly sent me to my own quarantine. it took two rounds of steroids and months longer for the scars to disappear. we now have a club. :)
I feel your pain! It’s the worst. I still have blistering welts and new ones to boot, but they’re not quite as itchy as they were.
Oh man! I react quite similarly to poison oak and ivy. I would suggest getting the shot and oral meds if you can!
I got a shot, but I may need oral meds before it’s all over. We’ll see if I start healing…
Oh, you have my deepest sympathies. My skin does this weird super-over-reaction thing to any type of insect bite or allergen exposure, so I am very familiar with the blistering welts. I don’t think people can really understand the pure misery of it unless they’ve experienced it themselves.
Yup, me too. And how about this for fairness: My husband has **NEVER** gotten a bug bite or any sort of poison anything – in his life.
I’ve even seen bugs bite him – and he doesn’t react at all!
I’m so sorry! Hope you feel better soon, Rachel! I’ve had that type of a reaction several times, and it’s miserable.
Wow that sounds horrible! Hope you heal quickly!!!