Anaphylaxis...

745 pm: Time to leave ICU and get home; freshen up and go for dinner with Boss.
750 pm: At home. Checking FB.
751 pm: Itching on hands...suddenly..spreading very rapidly..ALLERGY???? (I'm allergic to ant bites.)

752 pm: Hunting for Avil. Not able to find strip. Itching too much. Not able to hold strip.

753 pm: Looked at my face.....SWOLLEN!!!! Tongue....SWOLLEN!!!!!! Very scared now..

754 pm: Call my friend and colleugue--she rushed me back to the ICU.

Boss on his way. BP 60 systolic. Avil, Wymesone, Hydrocort rushed in...slight decrease in itching.

800 pm: Left in ICU while others went for dinner... :(

815 pm: More avil - much better now. Sleepy.

1030 pm: Boss and collegues back from dinner... Dinner of bread and chicken curry at Boss' house.

1045 pm: Slept at home..

Never have i had such a sudden, fast, bad reaction and to what i have no idea. Heart in my mouth, and being a doctor i knew just what could have gone wrong.

But my mother reminded me of this:

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Psalms 23:4.

Yes, even at deathbed, I will fear no evil because the Lord is with me and with out Him ordaining it, I will never leave this earth.

Thank you Lord for the comfort even at the worst situation.

The first Bombay trip...

After about five weeks in Jalna, i decided i needed a break from rural life and a visit to civilisation was paramount. Also a visit to see my newborn niece was long overdue. The onward bus journey, the stay at Bombay were uneventful. The return was....
Well, after a long wait, i finally got bus back to Jalna. At 3 a.m. i was suddenly jolted from pleasent dreams. The bus had a breakdown miles away from civilization. In the middle of the forest, it was quite scary to even get down from the bus. They got us out of the bus and sent us into another one. A family of 3 adults and a child adopted me under their wing. The other bus had vacant berths only at the end - where 5 people sleep on one huge berth. This family occupied that berth and looked at me looking forlorn and lost. A spark of pity in the heart of the grandfather, " Beti, you sleep next to aunty. we men will sleep at the other end. We are going to Jalna too. You stay with us till we reach there." Heart filled with gratitude, i slid onto the berth and reached Jalna, late but safely.
Looking back at that day, considering how many people don't care about what happens to others, this family was indeed angels sent by God to watch over me.
This is the verse that comes to my mind when i think of that day.
Psalms 91: 11-12. " For He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways, they will lift up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."
Indeed, this family of angels protected me and helped me reach Jalna back safely.
Thanks be to the God who protects all his childern.