when animals attack.

june 11th.
minutes after watching a beautiful sunset.
north clearwater beach, fl.
31 weeks pregnant.

My family and I go to North Clearwater Beach at sunset to swim a few times a week. It is great exercise for me and gives me huge relief from the weight of pregnancy. Last night, I stingray-shuffled my way out to the deeper water and advices Tyler to do the same because it is sting ray season. I actually was nervous about them and I usually am not (not to self: when are you going to start actually taking your intuitions advice? It is ALWAYS right!).

Mom, Dad, Ty, and myself spend about 20 minutes out in the ocean, swimming and watching the perfect sunset. About 10 minutes after the sun went down, I decided it probably was a good idea to head back. I swam as far as I could... not far because the tide was way out and it was very shallow. I started walking. Ty was swimming a ways behind me and my parents were still farther out.

Suddenly I felt a snap on my foot and a sharp stab... like I was being stabbed by a hot metal prong into the top right side of my right foot. I fell over and yelled to Ty that I stepped on something. That iss when the pain started escalating... and fast. I yelled to him that I think I got stung by a sting ray. I told myself to stay calm and relaxed but thought that crying might be a good idea so the people around me understood the severity of the situation and maybe it would make me feel better.

Ty quickly came over to me and scooped me up and carried me in as I was letting him know that IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS. My parents thought it was cute that Ty was carrying me in. They had no idea.

He sat me down on the blanket (good thing he is so strong) and tried to tell my parents that I was hurt. They were coming in and couldn't hear him. The pain really started to intensify and was throbbing and shooting up my leg. I put a towel on the bleeding wound to apply pressure. I didn't know what to do. I started crying harder. Ty told me to stay calm and take long deep abdominal breaths. He said it would be ok.

My parents saw me sobbing and quickly figured out this was bad. I was saying over and over again that it hurt. I lifted the towel so they could see the wound. It was a puncture and was bleeding. It started to hurt worse. Dad immediately got on his phone and called 911. He went up to the road to try and explain where we were and meet the ambulance.

While we waited for a help a girl walking by, her name was Hillary, stopped and said she knew CPR and would stay with me in case I had trouble breathing. She was from Arizona and called her dad who was a firefighter for help. He said I would need medical attention. I was rocking back and forth and trying to stay calm for the baby. I was REALLY WORRIED ABOUT THE BABY and was telling my uterus to stay calm and please not have a contraction and keep the baby safe.

Someone near us told us we needed hot water. We weren't really sure what that meant but sure didn't have any access to hot water. Another lady came who said she used to be a lifeguard and said to rub sand on my foot and then cover it in ice. OUCH. I think that this hurt the worst because looking back this is the same time that I got into a trance and just focused on breathing and kept my eyes closed or barely open.

My dad came back at this time and said I looked really bad and was really worried about me. The ice may have taken my mind off of the pain because it was so cold that IT burned. The pain from the poison was still throbbing and pulsating up my leg.

Ty stayed next to me and was all the reason I was able to stay so calm and relaxed. I kept my head on his shoulder with my eyes closed. For a little while, I felt like I was going to vomit or crap my bikini (just being honest). And opening my eyes made it worse.

The life gaurd lady felt my pulse and said it was great and I was staying really calm. I figure out fast that when I tensed up it hurt WAY worse. Hillary occasionally asked me about my pregnancy and helped keep my mind off of it. Ty and my mom made sure I had water and my mom stayed down with my injured foot. Dad was waiting for the EMT's up at the road.

I am not sure what time the firemen showed up in their beach golf cart thing but it was almost dark. Ty helped me in and they road me to the fire station as my family drove there. They were going really slow so they didn't make me uncomfortable but I told them to speed it up that I was ok and I just wanted to get there. They said the best thing to do is put the wound in scalding hot water, somehow the hot water stops the proteins in the toxins. Or maybe the heat takes your mind off of it. Not sure. He said few people have allergic reactions and I probably would have already experienced that. He said the biggest concern is infection in the days after and I will have to keep a very close eye to make sure there is no infection.

When we arrived at the fire station there was already a girl there with her foot in the hot water bucket. The firemen and woman were so nice. I wanted to get a picture of my bloody swollen foot before I put it in the bucket. The awesome fireman Chris took this picture and emailed it to me with the title, "When Animals Attack" in the subject line.



I refused the hospital since just about the only thing I would be ok with getting was benedryl, and apparently I didn't need that.

The hot water was immediate relief and was refilled several times to keep it scalding. My family arrived and Chris the fireman stayed with us talking to us about stingray attacks and that I might need a soft tissue xray if it doesn't heal well to make sure there is no barb stuck inside. He also talked to us about his kids and wanted to hear all about our little bean. He also said they had 7 other stings that day and that usually the men are the wimps and they throw up and pass out and its the tiny little girls that are always the toughest. Ya! Go tiny girls! I think I was there first prego sting ray attack though...

We were probably there for 45 mins before I wanted to go home. He was so nice to send us home with a little bucket so I could keep my foot in the water.







But as soon as my foot came out of the water... intense pain came back:


I kept my food in more hot water at home for a while and ate some yogurt before I finally got a shower and went to bed. Only after Ty put neosporin and a band-aid on my boo-boo. He kept saying "why did it have to be you my little annie". But if it was him I dont think I would have been able to carry him.

My family was SO amazing. They all stayed calm and worked extremely well together. Talk about good labor and delivery practice! There is no doubt in my mind who I trust to have assisting me and Ty in the birth of our daughter. And Tyler... I fell a LOT more deeply in love with him after last night. He truly is my beacon of light.

Today I am a little sore around my foot and overall very sleepy. I will be returning to bed shortly and baking those firemen a pie ASAP! Goodnight!

ps: jackie wants to play with baby already...


pss: my hero (who is now on a softball team and is clearly the mvp)