pain in the knuckle

Today I had my first real “Peace Corps incident”. 

I was taking my usual ice-cold bucket bath enjoying the view of the mango and palm trees. 

I grab my towel and begin to dry off when a sharp pain causes me to shriek and drop my towel.

aaaahhhh !

I squeeze my hand and feel the throbbing pain continue. 

Something stung me.

F*ing Mother of Mangos!

Completely naked and doubled over in pain I feel utterly defenseless.

With my eyes filled with water I stand up straight. 

Trying to compose myself and gather up the courage to pick up the towel.

I pick up one little corner. I shake it a bit to allow whatever bee or wasp just attacked my knuckle to fly far far away from me.

But nothing flies away. I grab another edge of the towel to reveal more of the surface area. All I could see before I quickly dropped the towel again was a black outline of what looked to be a scorpion.

I scream again. . A sting from a strange animal somehow causes my finger to hurt more. I start to think about how I should have paid more attention to the medical sessions during training.

Do scorpions carry disease?

Do I have to get someone to suck out the venom?

What next?

Uuugh. I wish I wasn’t naked. F.

I start screaming for Esperanza, the woman who works for my host family, and has become a close friend of mine.

“Esperanzaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Esperanzaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

I realize she can’t hear me, she’s in the front room cleaning with a bachata song I’ve heard 100 times blaring … one of the good ones.

One of the ones you have to turn up to really feel it move through your bones.

But why?

Why did this song have to be on the radio when beastly jungle creatures are attacking me?

“Esperanzaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

“Si!?!” I hear her scream.

“Can you bring me a towel?”

“Don’t you have a towel?”

“Yes, but some animal is in my towel and just stung me.”

She runs back with a towel. I wrap myself up and come out of the bathing area and point to the towel on the ground. She bends over to pick it up. I warn her to be careful…it’s a scorpion. 

In one smooth motion wiggles the scorpion off the towel onto the cement and squashes it under her flip-flop.  

(in my head "that's what happens to scorpions who sting ME")

She put on some rubbing alcohol and then this is when I find out there is no Benadryl in the Peace Corps med kit but thanks to my good friend Nancy and her practical care packages I had some StingEze that has worked like a charm to help the pain subside a bit. I said a prayer that I didn’t have some unknown allergy to scorpion venom and then thanked my lucky stars that the little creature didn’t sting me where the sun don’t shine.

Esperanza, the heroine of this story

CURRENT STATUS: No alergic reaction as of yet