Allergic to Suburbia
I did not sleep much last night. The Husband had gone upstate to get the used car his parents were generously donating to us. He seems eager to drive, which I really don't get. Sure, I like the convenience a car offers, but that is what taxis are for. Actually assuming responsibility for the car... Maintaining the car, driving the car. Ugh. Too stressful. Meanwhile, back in our apartment, I am getting ready for bed and I see him. Behind the garbage. It is a mouse.
We have NEVER had a mouse and I freak. I hate to sound like a wimp, but I was really a mess... Certain that I was going to step on him, or perhaps that he would crawl over me when I went to bed. It is almost midnight, but I call the husband. It is midnight, and I cannot imagine what the inlaws think, but this is not good. The husband tells me not to worry, that the mouse is more frightened of me than I am of it. He tells me he will "take care of it" tomorrow. Fantastic.
So I carefully make my way into the bedroom, leaving alll the lights and the TV on. Eventually, I must have fallen asleep, because the alarm wakes me at 7 am. I have an 8am appointment at the allergist.
So as the husband drives down route 80 to bring back our new car and take care of all the paperwork (registration, tests, etc), I head to the allergist to get a better sense what I may expect to find in our new neighborhood. The husband wants a pet, and I am thinking that a cat would be far easier than a dog, but I do recall that I was allergic to cats as a kid. Moments after the allergist pricks me with a tray of "environmental" allergans, I am in agony. No joke. Not exactly itching... sort of burning... an excruciating and unbearable sensation. So there I am sitting, trying to read a magazine and look inconspicuous as I wait the 20 minutes necessary for the full effect. After about 3 minutes, I am back in the nurses office.
"Sorry, I don't mean to be annoying, but is something wrong? Really wrong? Is it supposed to feel like/look like this?"
The nurse takes one look at my blotchy lumpy arm which is already double the size of my other arm and her eyes bulge. Not a good sign. Shouldn't she be used to seeing people react to this stuff? She immediately brings me to a room and calls in the doctor. His first comment- Unbelievable. Apparently I am VERY highly allergic to grass and trees (and dust mites, cockroaches, ragweed...) Great.
"what about the cats?" I ask?
"Not sure" says the Doctor. Apparently, thanks to my reaction to the grasses and trees, my arm is too swollen to really tell. But they will re test next week, he assures me. Great.
Less then 4 days till we close on the lovely house in Jersey....
We have NEVER had a mouse and I freak. I hate to sound like a wimp, but I was really a mess... Certain that I was going to step on him, or perhaps that he would crawl over me when I went to bed. It is almost midnight, but I call the husband. It is midnight, and I cannot imagine what the inlaws think, but this is not good. The husband tells me not to worry, that the mouse is more frightened of me than I am of it. He tells me he will "take care of it" tomorrow. Fantastic.
So I carefully make my way into the bedroom, leaving alll the lights and the TV on. Eventually, I must have fallen asleep, because the alarm wakes me at 7 am. I have an 8am appointment at the allergist.
So as the husband drives down route 80 to bring back our new car and take care of all the paperwork (registration, tests, etc), I head to the allergist to get a better sense what I may expect to find in our new neighborhood. The husband wants a pet, and I am thinking that a cat would be far easier than a dog, but I do recall that I was allergic to cats as a kid. Moments after the allergist pricks me with a tray of "environmental" allergans, I am in agony. No joke. Not exactly itching... sort of burning... an excruciating and unbearable sensation. So there I am sitting, trying to read a magazine and look inconspicuous as I wait the 20 minutes necessary for the full effect. After about 3 minutes, I am back in the nurses office.
"Sorry, I don't mean to be annoying, but is something wrong? Really wrong? Is it supposed to feel like/look like this?"
The nurse takes one look at my blotchy lumpy arm which is already double the size of my other arm and her eyes bulge. Not a good sign. Shouldn't she be used to seeing people react to this stuff? She immediately brings me to a room and calls in the doctor. His first comment- Unbelievable. Apparently I am VERY highly allergic to grass and trees (and dust mites, cockroaches, ragweed...) Great.
"what about the cats?" I ask?
"Not sure" says the Doctor. Apparently, thanks to my reaction to the grasses and trees, my arm is too swollen to really tell. But they will re test next week, he assures me. Great.
Less then 4 days till we close on the lovely house in Jersey....
posted by Valerie Simon at 7:52 AM
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