this is a story that i felt deserved it's own entry, so here it is! during our first night, when anna and i received our english orientation from melanie, we were informed of something that i have to admit raised a bit of concern. there is apparently a bee on sado whose sting can be fatal, so we are told that if we get stung during the workshop we should notify someone immediately, even if we feel okay. melanie stressed that we should take it very seriously, and just yell right away for her if we are stung. apparently the stings aren't that common, but they do happen, and someone had been stung during kasamix, the workshop held there the week before. there was also mention of centipedes, which aren't poisonous, but have a nasty bite. we are told with either creature NOT to swat if away, but get someone else to remove it from you. seems like instinct would be to swat it, doesn't sound so easy. we are also told that if during the workshop eiichi-san lies down on the ground to do so VERY SLOWLY, as he has spotted a bee. stephen didn't warn me of this!!! (i found out later that the bees are a more recent development on the island). anyway, i left the orientation with this in the back of my mind, but it didn't consume my thoughts really. i did notice a bee later in the evening, and promptly told naoko, who took care of it :(. i enjoyed the rest of my evening, and had a great first day the next day at the workshop. we had another lovely dinner, and i was looking forward to watching the kenshu sei practice for eiichi-san later that evening. stephen and i had prearranged to have him call me that second night there, to touch base, say hello and be sure we both made it where we were supposed to! i filled him in on how things were going, and heard about his adventures too. just towards the end of the conversation i happen to mention the bee to stephen, who didn't know anything about it. after i am done on the phone, i go wash up, make a quick trip to the washroom and find a place to sit in the gym waiting for the practice to begin.
there are a few others here already too, and the kenshu sei warming up, but i am sitting by myself at the corner of the stage. suddenly i feel something strange, then i realize it is a sharp pain, and immediately think i am being bitten by a centipede. it is on my right shoulder towards the back of my neck, so i can't see, but of course proceed immediately to swat it away! i am a bit stunned, no one is right there to ask, and i didn't think to call anyone over. i am sort of looking off in front of me when a few feet away i see a bee flying off. yes, just 20 minutes after i mention this bee to stephen on the phone i get stung!!!!! surprisingly i am quite calm, i get up and walk down the hall to look for melanie. i find gan-san, tell him i've been stung, and he gets melanie right away. her and michiko-san ask a few questions, take a look at the bite, and each other, and aren't sure what to do. i don't seem to be having any of the reactions that they would be concerned about, but it is late, the local clinic is closed and the hospital is an hour drive away. gan-san calls the hospital to ask what should be done, and they make the decision to take me. it is really a precaution, they aren't that worried that i have been bitten by 'the' bee (i now discover that there are also regular bees on sado.....), but with the hospital an hours drive away everyone just wants to be safe. so gan-san, melanie and i climb in to a van and head to the hospital. melanie is in the back seat with me, and says i should try to stay awake and keep talking so that they know that i am okay. the drive to the hospital is quite a winding one, and very early on i find out that melanie gets motion-sick on the drive (gomen nasai!), and since i do as well, a slight nausea sets in. at this point melanie is reassuring me that i don't seem to be exhibiting any of the symptoms of the 'killer bee' sting, and tells me a bit about the girl who was stung last week. apparently the reaction is usually quite dramatic, the woman the week before was quite hysterical, and often a fever develops right away, as well as numbing of parts of the body and incredible pain in the area stung. well it does hurt alot, but i feel mostly calm, and not feverish or numb at all, so i can understand why she thinks i have probably been stung by a regular bee. i also learn during this trip that it is usually the 2nd sting that is fatal, the 1st is usually just a really violent reaction. nevertheless, about 20 minutes in to the car ride my mild hypochondria sets in and i am thinking 'i could die!'. (this passes quickly...) i am also pretty nauseous at this point, but am pretty sure it is from the car ride, and am thankful to melanie for being a calming influence on this ride.
when we arrive at the hospital and find our way to reception, it is dark and no one is there! after a minute, we hear some keys clanging, and melanie calls out sumimasen to get a security guards attention. it turns out reception is closed and he is the person to admit us to the hospital. at this point they ask for my passport, and although i had grabbed my insurance papers (thanks again melanie!) i didn't even think to bring along my passport, credit cards or any money! they admit me anyways, and thankfully melanie has some cash on her to spot my fee. we are directed to emergency, through a completely desolate and dark hospital with not a single person in sight (this is not toronto!) and are met by an RN who takes one look at me and says, she's okay. after attending to the other person in emergency, a short few minutes later they take my blood pressure and temperature. i then see a doctor who looks at me and the sting, which thanks to my icing is barely visible, and with melanie translating assures me it is just a regular bee sting and i don't need any injections. they apply a little steroid cream and give me the tube to take with me, then we are on our way! it was maybe a five minute examination. but all is good! we call back to let the people at the workshop to let them know that i am okay only to discover that someone else has been stung! we don't get any details as they were quick to get off the phone, so we leave and undertake the hour drive back. it is after 10pm at this point, but since we are now no longer in a hurry, we take the longer, less winding way back. at some point i become quite indignant that this bee stung me, i was just sitting there doing nothing, i had no perfume or scents on, no hair products, i wasn't provoking it at all, why did it randomly choose to bite me!!! it is actually with humour that i am having this conversation with melanie, and we laugh. when we get back, everyone is asking if i am okay, and i assure them i am. i find out the other person who was stung is okay too, he had stepped on the bee, so i guess they were able to tell it wasn't the killer variety. definitely an exciting night though, and we are told to wear slippers in the halls for the rest of the weekend. i am sent off to bed with a fresh ice pack from joe, and wake up in the morning with no pain, an a no longer visible sting. i'm not sure i captured it in this story, but this was a kind of dramatic, intense experience that i am very thankful to have had melanie along to share with me, she added both comfort and humour to the occasion. and i am obviously fine, and was really mostly fine through out too, just made for an interesting adventure!!!!
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