Spent night in ER - Hubby bit by scorpion!
 

So last Saturday night, as many of you know, I almost lost Marcel due to his choking on a chew. Well....last night, the now dreaded Saturday night...I ended up in the ER with my hubby, Tony, from 3am-12:30pm.

Scorpions are just a fact of life here in Arizona, but we've never actually had an issue with them. We have only found a few in the house, and they are usually dead. I had just turned out the lights last night at 10:15, when I heard Tony saying really loud from the other room "Honey, HONEY!". And then he came in the bedroom limping, saying he thought he'd just been stung on the foot by a scorpion.

We washed his foot, elevated it, got an ice pack, Benadryl etc - and then I went to find the scorpio in the den...but never did find it :(.

Meanwhile, Tony was just in excruciating pain, we couldn't believe it! He was getting really tingly too, so eventually I called poison control to see what we should do, and they said so far - this sounded normal. By 2am though, he had no feeling in his legs, the tingling/numbness was going all over, his lips were numb, said his swallowing felt weird, he was pale/gray, in severe pain, and had SEVERE nystagmus (his eyeballs were rapidly moving back and forth). I had talked to poison control twice during this time and they said the nystagmus could happen, but that none of this was probably life threatening. Probably?

We decided to go the ER, he just did not look right. But he couldn't walk - he had no feeling in his legs whatsoever. He couldn't even put weight on them, it was so scary. So we put him on a blanket and I dragged him...and he also partially dragged himself w/ his arms (I know, OMG!)...and out to the garage and I don't know how we hauled him up into the car, but we did.

Got to ER about 3am and his lips were almost blue, he looked just horrible. They gurneyed him in, and I parked. Over the next hours, they gave him 3 IV shots of morphine to help manage pain, and he was sort of in/out of sleeping eventually. The toxicologist didn't give the anti-venom bc Tony was already 5hrs into the bite, so we just waited. The pain was managed, but the numbness was really slow in going away - which the toxicologist said was normal. His face color came back around 6-7am.

They wouldn't let him leave the ER unless he could stand, and walk a few steps. Before noon, he finally had enough sensation to walk a little bit, but he has to brace himself and is very wobbly. The toxicologist said he had a severe reaction (but did not call it allergic) and that the neurotoxin released by the scorpio was what caused all of these symptoms. He said that the numbness/tingling can take up to a month to clear in some severe cases!

Interestingly, the toxicologist said this doesn't mean he would react the exact same way if he was bitten again. But he said, if he was bitten again - and if the symptoms were heading this way - Tony should go to the ER right away, and then they'd give him the anti-venom if it was early in the bite.

My poor hubs...I can't believe what he went through last night, I've never seen a toxic reaction occur and I can't believe how painful it was :(. All of that from a tiny little bug.

So, what are my plans for next Saturday night, you ask? Um, yeah, everyone is being locked inside a sealed, padded room with nothing but water :rolleyes:.

Oh my word Ann!!!!...I'm so glad your DH is alright!.......What a scary thing to have happened !......What if it's still hiding in the house somewhere and it bites the dogs? ....Would this be serious to them? ....I hope you find that thing!

Sounds like a good plan for next Sat. Please seal up the door with caulk so the scorpions don't get in.

OMG Ann what a week you've had and I'm so glad he's going to be ok ! That had to hurt like hell - those are nasty nasty little creatures and i can't believe he got bit ! Did you find it ?

Sending you all my thoughts and prayers - what a big scare after your other big scare - BIG BIG HUGS Friend ! I know you'll now be worried all the time about others but hopefully that was a one time lost scorpio and you won't ever see one again in your home

(I had a tiny toad the other day in my apt and just lost it - looked all over after I almost stepped on it and after an hour of searching managed to find it - it was less than 1/2 big and just a baby but the nerve of that thing invading our turf ! ) had I stepped on it I'd have probably barfed....

Please tell your husband he has prayers from Texas - that could have been so much worse !
(and it sounds really bad already) but thankfully he got treated and it sounds like he'll be ok in time,

ouch ouch ouch !

Oh my GOSH. I am SO SO SO glad that your hubby is alright!! Scorpions are one of my biggest fears, which is kind of ridiculous because I've never seen one LOL.

That must have been so scary for both of you and so unbelievably painful. :( Hugs!! <3

I certainly hope your Saturday night emergencies don't come in 3's, and I hope your DH doesn't have any lingering effects from that bite. I guess it is a sting?? Scary stuff!

Good Lord!! You have really been put to the test, I hope you passed:) Seriously, I'm so glad your hubby is fine.

OMG! I was just recovering from your ordeal LAST Saturday night :eek: !

Glad you took Tony into the ER! Could have been MUCH worse if his reaction was that severe so quickly!! :(

BTW.....I am a Scorpio.....but I don't bite ;)

Oh my gosh. That had to be soooo scary. :(

And it's still in the house????????

Thank you for the reminded that Michigan isn't all bad...

OMGosh... I'm so glad he is feeling better:) How scarey, I was tingling while reading your horrible experience. Those symptoms just sound terrifying. Can the second bite have a more severe effect?

When I was in Key West last year we stayed at the Chica Lodge and met this adoring man who was celebrating his 85th birthday, god bless him. We woke in the middle of the night to an emergency crew at the lodge and they said an elderly man was bit by a scorpian:eek:. It was the bithday guy! I was so scared for him and heart broken:(:( I was so relieved to hear he was okay!!

HOLY CRAP! TG you took him into the ER. You have been through so much lately!! That has to be soooooo scary.
Sending prayers that this never happens again! My girls would be right there with their noses and probably get popped too. UGH!
:hug:

wow!!! I am so glad that he is alrite:)
That must of been awful to watch him suffer like that. To think that something so small can do so much damage...very scary:eek:

Ann - check all your shoes etc - I'm sure you know all this but man - I wouldn't know where to start to see if there were more - Is there a preventative that you can use to keep them OUT of your home ? Do you see alot of them there in AZ ? Ive seen them but don't have that kind of problem in Houston (I hope) but if I did I'd be paranoid

Thank God you were there when this happened ! That's the one thing I really hate about being alone now - I'm all I have if something happened and it scares me sometimes just thinking of the 'what if's' - I do have a great neighbor - a few actually ....but it's not the same as having someone right there like I used to when my husband was alive.

Your husband is a lucky man to have you ! I'm sure he feels the same and again - all the best - this really freaked me out reading your post

wow, Im so glad Tony is ok. And to think I want to move to Arizona!

that must have been absolutely frightening! I'm so glad you hubby is doing better now.