“Ouch!” Jerking back her hand, dropping the shoe, and swearing not so softly, she did her best not to panic! She entered the house through the garage and walked quickly to the kitchen. She didn’t want to alarm her grandchildren. Swiftly her mind raced with questions about what to do next, but the pain was numbing her brain, making it difficult to think. It was early in Arizona, but it wasn’t in Florida, so she called.
My sister, Susan, had been shaking out her granddaughter’s shoes which had been left in the garage overnight. A smart practice anywhere, but especially in the desert southwest. As she did, an Arizona Bark Scorpion fell out, skittering across her hand, jabbing it’s stinger into her thumb on his way to escape! This species of scorpion is the most venomous in the United States. Unless you’re a young child, or elderly it most likely won’t kill you, but before it’s over, you might think it will.
When I answered the phone I could hear the pain in her voice and knew something was very wrong. I listened carefully as she explained what happened and what she was feeling. In only moments her hand was tingling and turning numb as the fiery pain moved up her arm. Her eye began twitching and she was feeling dizzy. As she spoke I was rapidly Googling Arizona Poison Control. I suggested she put ice on it, which by the way, is not a good idea. It speeds up tissue damage. Instead a cold compress is best. Instead she plunged it in cold water. Not that it really helped anything.
Susan didn’t want to wake her husband up, but I pointed out that very soon, as these symptoms increased, she would not be able to safely get her grandchildren ready for school, let alone drive them there! She made the call. Drilling down I was able to find a phone number that specifically deals with venom. I gave it to her and recommended she call it. I turned to Googling symptoms so we would know what to expect. This was probably going to get worse before it gets better. It did!
Poison Control told her that the venom could move throughout her system, increasing and spreading symptoms one by one for up to six hours. After that time they would gradually decrease. They would call her every hour to check on her, making sure it was just painful and not life threatening.
The venom spread and so did the tingling and numbness in her extremities, all of them! Her heart rate increased, but not alarmingly so. Both eyes were twitching, which gave her a headache. Along with the headache came dizziness, and together they made her nauseous. Through it all the pain never receded. I checked in as often as Poison Control did. I felt really bad for her. I knew it hurt and was scary, but there was nothing I could do. It just had to work its way out. At six hours there was nothing new to endure. Slowly the symptoms began to subside, though it took several days for the pain at the injection sight to go away. It was intense, and it’s not anything she ever cares to go through again. That was her granddaughter’s shoe that was harboring that scorpion. Can you imagine if….? I don’t even want to think it!
I was in Arizona two years ago when my mom died. We were cleaning up her back yard when Susan lifted a piece of wood that a scorpion was napping underneath. She told me to, “Step on it!” I was wearing flip flops! That was not going to happen. I grew up in Arizona too. I know this isn’t how things are done! Then last week she texts me a picture of a scorpion in her washing machine! The “what ifs…” and “how the heck…” comprise a long list of questions and possibilities! They have a problem out there!
I’m telling you this story, because this is the same sister that won’t come see me in Florida. Why? Because we have alligators! Gators are stealthy for how large they are, but I can assure you I will never find one napping in my shoe, or curled up in my washing machine!!!
Yesterday my brother, Greg, and I were messing around in his garage when we saw a fat bark scorpion on the wall. We caught it and took it out into the front yard and as we were squashing it, all the eggs inside mama scorpion’s innards came out. I’m glad we squashed mama scorpion before she had all those babies!
They seem to be a real problem. I don’t remember it being that way when we were growing up there.