lew Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 (edited) Today was beautiful and I spend hours in the yard just working and the flower beds and grass. I was down on my hands & knees when it suddenly felt like someone was sticking needles in me. Within seconds I was being attacked by a huge swarm of bees and after a couple more seconds most of my body was covered in the bees. I was wearing shorts and T-Shirt so there was plenty of bare skin for them to go after and I swear every bee hated me and was doing their best to kill me. I pulled off the T-Shirt and used it to try and swat away as many as possible while I ran for the back door. I sure as heck didn't want them in the house so I stayed on the deck until I was sure I had them all off me then I made and mad dash inside and closed the door behind me but the swarm was still trying to get at me. Within seconds my head started spinning like crazy and I couldn't stand up anymore so I sat down on the nearest chair. While the whole world was spinning like crazy I started feeling sick like I've never felt before and I honestly thought this attack and the huge amounts of venom was killing me. The nearest ambulance is in Lakefield which is 8 miles south of me and when we called 911 they were here within 10 minutes and the volunteer firemen were here before them. I was a fireman down in Toronto for 32 years and can't tell you how absolutely impressed I was with all the emergency personel who responded and took care of me. They immediately put me on oxygen and epronephron (sp) then loaded me into an ambulance for the long rush down to Peterboro hospital. It was lights & siren the whole way and the normal 40 minute drive was done in half that time. My whole body was shaking and I was in alot of pain. I was rushed into Emergency and they started helping me almost before the stretcher came to a halt. They hooked me up to a bunch of fluids and treated me like I was the most important person in the hospital. They kept me there for 5 hours until I was feeling better and once they saw I could walk down the aisle and back without tipping over they sent me home. I'm still weak and many of the bites are still very sore but most of the swelling has gone away and I'll be good as new in the morning....hopefully. It may be the worst medical emergency I've ever personally gone through and I know my wife and daughter were both scared for my life. Out here in the country it's nice to know we have outstanding emergency crews around and a hospital not too far away that treats the patients with total respect and the dedication shown by the staff at Peterboro hospital. Long story but I'm just glad I made it thru OK....and so are my family and and friends. SO...how was YOUR day. Picture my daughter took with her phone. Edited July 12, 2015 by lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spincast Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 wow - that is some scary Lew. Glad to hear you are OK - bee venom can be nasty, and that sounds very painful . Hope you don't become sensitized to bee stings from this event. Did you happen to dig into a nest that they went nuts one you? Or is there an after shave we need to know about ? (just kidding) Take it easy and best wishes for s speedy recovery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomcat Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 My day was a heck of a lot better than your day Lew! So sorry to hear of your ordeal. One just never knows when something unwarranted or uninvited is going to happen that can impact your life as you know it. Suffice to say that I'm happy to hear about your timely excellent care and that you're feeling somewhat better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeXXington Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Wow Lew, take care! That many bee's could be fatal if the body reacts bad. Glad your OK.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbuck Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Ouch!!! Epinephrine us your friend. Are you allergic or was it just that you got stung so many times? Shoulda smiled at them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickingfrog Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Geez Lew, glad everything is ok. Have some honey on your toast in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowball Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Sorry to hear about your very painful event. Take care! Snowball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.brock Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 (edited) We (me included) whine about our high taxes, but we don't complain about the help we get when we need it. Glad you're ok, good story. Edited July 12, 2015 by chris.brock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captpierre Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Glad you are on the mend, Lew. Close call for sure. You musta really pissed off those bees. Or were they wasps or hornets. Not like bees to do that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captpierre Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Glad you are on the mend, Lew. Close call for sure. You musta really pissed off those bees. Or were they wasps or hornets. Not like bees to do that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HTHM Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Heres to a full recovery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted July 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 (edited) Not like bees to do that Thanks guys and I'm feeling better by the minute. I was in a bit of panic mode I spose and honestly don't know for sure what they were, but they didn't appear to be as long as a wasp or hornet & I'd guess they were maybe a 1/2-3/4 inch long but I'm sure no expert on them. Interesting too how there's always somone alot worse off than we think we are. As I was laying on the stretcher in the ER feeling sorry for my lousy luck, a man was wheeled in on a stretcher with his face covered in blood and shortly after that another ambulance brought in a small boy who was crying and wearing a neck brace and was followed by a police officer so we just sorta guessed the little guy was in some type of accident. No matter how bad we've got it, someone else has it alot worse. And I've got good neighbors around here too, after they saw me leave in the ambulance somebody put away all my tools and lawnmower. Edited July 12, 2015 by lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pikeslayer Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Holy moley Lew. Happy to hear you're all square. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Glad your ok. I sprayed a big hive today. That spay works great. Bees don't bother me much but I keep them under control for others. Get lots of rest and then hunt them down. I saw you on 11 south bound when I was north bound two weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted July 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Thanks again boys, I'm starting to fell like I'm 18 again....almost. I saw you on 11 south bound when I was north bound two weeks ago. We were coming back from a week at Mashkinonje Lodge on the West Arm Glen. Heading up to Memquisit for a couple more weeks in August. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenboater Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 (edited) holy smoking jayzus Lew ! Glad help was there asap and you're much better. never heard of swarm attacks like that before unless a nest or colony was threatened but you've been there for years so it's strange that this happened. Be interesting to have a local beekeeper come by and see if he can figure out what they were. I know I've seen few things that I haven't seen before. metallic blueish looking thing, almost wasp length but didn't bother me. wonder if keeping an epi pen or something similar on hand would be worth looking into having on hand. Edited July 12, 2015 by woodenboater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustic-Fisher Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Wow! Glad your ok . Scary stuff . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerritt Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Wow that's some scary stuff Lew! I have seen plenty of bees that live in burrows underground. Perhaps you disturbed them? They don't have hives per say but burrow deep and that's where they live out their lives...coming and going to collect pollen and nectar etc... Keep an eye out in that general area for bees landing in the grass and see if you can find their burrow and spray the heck outta it. I'm glad to see you are alright! Could have been much worse. G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigdritchie Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Also spent my day working in the yard, but it wasn't nearly as exciting as yours. I'm very grateful for that. Glad to hear you're going to be ok. Once you're back on your feets, you might want to call a pest control guy to get rid of the hive you evidently stirred up. Sometimes they're in the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted July 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 I have a 2' high wooden retaining wall in the yard and I was trimming the grass right at the end of it. I'm thinking the bees were living down in the ground where the wooden 6x6 timbers meet the ground. That was my 1st impression anyways. My neighbor dropped off a pressurized container of bug killer for tomorrow but there's an aerosol made specifically for killing wasps, hornets and bees that I've used before and it practically kills on contact. I may go into town tomorrow and grab a couple cans. I'll definitely be wearing long pants, gloves and my bug jacket when I do the deed though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerry Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Sounds definately like you disturbed a ground hornets nest.The hole opening will likely be up to 2 inches and you might mistake it for a skunk or squirrel grubbing around the lawn.They are nasty.Sting first and once one gets set off they all go.Had a nest in our back yard that was 3ft down.Took 3 separate tries at burning it out before we finally got it. Good to here you are doing OK. Kerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manitoubass2 Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 (edited) Holy crap lew! Glad your ok and were well taken care of? I hope your feeling much better, thats pretty crazy. I got hit today with hornets(no lie), so I find this kinda ironic. Got ready for the evening campfire, grabbed a piece of firewood and all the sudden it felt like hot embers were dropping on me. It was half dark so I could'nt see what was going on so I kept truckin about wondering what the heck? By the time i realized it was hornets i already had quite afew stings. Hard to tell how many lol my upper body still feels like its on fire. I dislike hornets Heal well Lew? Edited July 12, 2015 by manitoubass2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Cliff Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Sorry to hear about the incident but I'm sure glad to hear that everything worked out as well as it did for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewHips Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Scary to say the least.........Glad it had a positive outcome. Prayers coming your way for a fast recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey buoy Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Holy cow Lew,glad your on the mend . Lawn mowed over one a few years back.Rotted stump under ground. 20 stings before I could make it into the house.Ankles only for the most part.Just at about dark that same evening,a can of hornet blaster when you know they are all in for the night.One long steady spray did it.Doing this during the day would not be a good thing.Take care Lew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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