Home That one where the docs had to remind me that I’m allergic to bees
Local News

That one where the docs had to remind me that I’m allergic to bees

Contributors
bee
( © schankz – stock.adobe.com)

“OK, let’s see. We do have you with a bee allergy.”

A bee allergy?

I have to admit, had to scan the inner recesses of the old noggin to remember that I would have ever had a bee allergy.

Turns out it’s my Ron “Tater Salad” White moment.

He once smart-assed a cop that his alias was “Tater Salad,” and 20 years later, after getting hurled out of a bar in New York City, it came back up.

“You got him. You got the Tater,” you might remember him saying.

My bee allergy is hardly a bee allergy, except in my hospital records.

I think it was back in 2006, when I still lived in a trailer park in Crimora.

Mowing grass in the backyard, I got stung by a group of yellow jackets.

Then, the next week, another set of stings from a swarm of yellow jackets.

That I got stung twice in a week was the issue. The second set of stings caused an allergic reaction that manifest in a giant ball that moved up my leg.

I was told by the ER doc that it could have killed me.

Apparently, I’m allergic to yellow jackets.

Had to carry around an EpiPen for a while, just in case.

I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I had that prescription refilled.

I don’t think I’m allergic to, you know, all bees.

Been stung by honeybees, wasps.

I’m not an insectologist, or whatever. I’m sure there are others.

Stung twice in my life by yellow jackets.

Happens that the second one caused an allergic reaction.

Fifteen years later …

“So, you’re allergic to bees?”

I was checked out by innumerable doctors, RNs, the like, last week as the teams at Augusta Health and UVA Health tried to get me through a pulmonary embolism.

I heard over and over about this allergy to bees.

Which is something that I had literally not thought of in 15 years.

You got him. You got the Tater.

Story by Chris Graham

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.

Latest News

snow and ice sunrise sunset
Virginia News

Snow, sleet, freezing rain possible on Saturday in Virginia, West Virginia

non dairy milk
Local News

Rockingham County: Teamsters announce deal with Danone with pay, benefit increases

Teamsters Local 29, which represents 550 dairy workers at the Danone North America plant in Rockingham County, have ratified a new contract that includes significant pay and benefit increases. “Our members deserve a great contract that reflects the sacrifice and commitment they provide to making Danone successful, and that is exactly what we accomplished,” said...

kymora johnson uva basketball
Basketball, Sports

Women’s Basketball: #22 Florida State coasts past Virginia, 101-68

Florida State, up 18 at halftime, erased all doubt with a 34-point third quarter, on its way to a 101-68 rout of Virginia on Thursday at JPJ.

mom and daughter, Tammy and Kaitlyn Duffy
Virginia News

‘Make a plan’: Virginia mom fulfills promise to daughter who was killed by a drunk driver

Local News

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library to display Kushnir art of Shenandoah Valley

baseball
Baseball, Sports

Fredericksburg Nationals will pay homage to all-Black team in 2025 season

ben cline elon musk
Politics, U.S. & World News

Elon Musk fanboy Ben Cline goes to bat for neo-Nazi billionaire buddy