The inevitable has happened...

Maybe it was karma due to my endless worrying about the scorpions in our home, or maybe it was just a higher being's way of telling us the time is right to get out of this house. Either way, for whatever the reason, the inevitable has happened...today, Roo stepped on a scorpion tail.

I was out in the garage putting some things aside for our garage sale next week, and Roo came out to join me. She didn't have shoes on, so I quickly shooed her inside saying I didn't want her to step on anything. Well, as I said that she picked up her foot and said "Ouch!" I didn't have my glasses on at the time, and thought I saw just a small stick under her foot, so I picked her up and took her inside. About two minutes later, I went back out in the front room and Roo was sitting on the floor scratching at her foot....the look on her face was one of total discomfort so I asked her what was wrong. "Ouch mama. Foot hurts. I need nurse. Go to doctor, mama" was her reply. I looked where she was scratching and couldn't see any prick point, but I went and got soap, a wet paper towel, some dry paper towels, a cold compress and quickly cleaned her entire foot then blotted it dry. She said it still hurt, but she wasn't scratching at it as much after I cleaned it. My mother's intuition must have been ringing loud and clear, because I decided to go back out to the garage and look where she had stepped. Sure enough, there was a scorpion tail right at the spot where she had stopped and said "Ouch." I picked it up with a straw and put it into a plastic baggy, then I called poison control just to find out what should be done.

The nice lady on the phone told me exactly what to do (cleaning with soap and water and putting a cold compress on it were two of the first things she told me....guess that basic first aid instinct from all those years of girls camp and 2 years of Medical Assisting courses at Palomar finally came in handy!) and what symptoms to look for. Since most of the symptoms of scorpion stings are felt and cannot be observed (such as numbness and pain), it is somewhat difficult for the mother of a toddler to measure just how much pain her daughter is in. The symptoms escalate in the first 6-8 hours after the initial sting, but after that they are supposed to subside. The main things to look for were drooling, twitching of the eyes, scratching at her throat like it was itching or she was having difficulty breathing, and difficulty in swallowing food or water.

We are lucky that Roo only suffered a minor sting. She had some slight drooling and is favoring her foot a little, but other than that she seems to be all right. I have been watching her breathing patterns and observing her eyes, and (knock on wood) those appear to be normal. She hasn't had as much water to drink as usual, but she isn't scratching at her throat or saying that its hurting her, sooooo....I'm hoping that means she will be okay and we won't have to go the ER today. We are going on 4 1/2 hours since the sting...I'm a nervous wreck inside, but I am trying to think positively and hope that my quick reactions helped a little bit.

Bottom line, I just wish I could take over whatever pain she is feeling...I would take it from her in a heartbeat, without any question. And the next time I see a scorpion, it better say a quick prayer before it meets the sole of my shoe because there will be NO mercy from this mother.

P.S. If you ever come across a dead scorpion, or pieces from a dismembered scorpion, PLEASE do not decide to play with the nasty thing. Even though it's dead or detached, the poison can still hurt you if you poke it just right. I seriously think scorpions are the spawn of the devil - I mean, honestly, how many other things can still inflict serious physical harm on people even after they're dead?

It's creepy...and unnatural...and I hate those nasty little things more than ever.