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Wasp sting turns from nuisance to life threatening for Fairfax manWhat began as a relaxing August evening sitting on the balcony of their rural home near Fairfax, Minnesota, watching a gentle summer rain quickly turned into the scariest evening of Mark and Linda Forst's lives. Within the space of a few minutes they went from this tranquil scene to flying down Fort Road at speeds of up to 100 miles an hour. They were both barefoot – for the lack of time to put on shoes – heading for the Emergency Department at New Ulm Medical Center with Mark quickly losing consciousness.
 Mark and Linda Forst of rural Fairfax can smile now that they have put some distance between themselves and the horrifying severe allergic reaction that Mark suffered on August 12, when he was stung by a wasp. The reason behind this frightening event was something that most people – including the Forst's up until that day – consider to be a minor nuisance. A wasp floated onto the balcony with Mark and Linda and changed their lives in a heartbeat. "Within two minutes of the sting, my armpits and groin started to itch," Mark said. "I told Linda I was going to take a shower and she went to get the Benadryl for me." Having been stung many times in his life with no major reactions, Mark thought little of this incident. As he prepared get into the shower and his throat started to close up, Mark realized this time was different. "I told Linda we needed to get to the emergency department … NOW." Linda, seeing enormous welts forming on Mark's back, was not inclined to argue. The pair ran to the car barefoot. Linda recalls being annoyed that she had to stop at the end of their long, winding driveway for a car that was coming down the road. "But, it turned out to be a good pause because it gave me a moment to think of putting on the hazard lights and every single vehicle on the way in pulled over for us." Miraculously, there were no cars at the usually busy intersection of Garden Street and Highway 14. Unfortunately, Linda ended up taking the car through a rough construction zone, including a pile of gravel that she couldn't get around. Mark had lost consciousness as they had driven through St. George – she wasn't about to let a pile of gravel stop her. Linda ran through the doors of the Emergency Department at New Ulm Medical Center and rapidly told them what was happening. With lightning speed, she pulled her car into the Emergency Department garage, as instructed, and just as quickly Mark was put into a wheelchair and taken into the department. "I remember six people working on him," Linda said. His head was as big as a basketball and his hands were swollen like something out of a cartoon picture. His blood pressure was 70 over 48. The first thing given was an epi-pen (epinephrine injection) "slammed into my leg through my pants," Mark said. After four hours in the Emergency Department, during which he was given liquid Benadryl and steroids to bring down the swelling, Mark was transferred to the Critical Care Unit. Here he stayed for two days until they could get his blood pressure back to normal, make sure that his breathing was stabilized and determined that the chest pains he was feeling were nothing to worry about. "I can't say enough good things about the people there – everyone from the Emergency Department and the Critical Care Unit were just wonderful to both of us," Mark said. While it is most often recommended to call an ambulance in the case of such an emergency, Linda was glad she didn't take any chances with them being in a rural location. "The doctor told me that if we had gotten there five minutes later, they may not have been able to do anything for him," she said. While the vast majority of insect stings are indeed no more than a nuisance to most, about 25 to 50 people die each year of insect stings, according to e-medicine.com. The sting can cause a reaction called anaphylaxis – more commonly known as a sudden, severe allergic reaction. Mark Forst will soon begin treatments with wasp, and white and yellow hornet serum to build up his resistance to such stings – the treatments will take place once a week for five years. Most likely for the rest of his life he will carry with him the four epi-pens that he has been prescribed. "The doctor told me that if I get stung again, I will have something like 15 minutes instead of the 25 or 30 I had this time," he said. If there is a silver lining to this horrifying experience, the Forsts agree that it is the chance to tell their story. For, while they were both flying down the road toward the Emergency Department in the same car together, they know that they were on different journeys. Linda distinctly recalls feeling like she had help driving the car. "It was like when you're little and you're sitting on an adult's lap and they're letting you drive," Linda said. She could feel the weight of what felt like someone else's arms on top of her arms and their hands on top of her hands. Although Mark lost consciousness around St. George, he remembers telling Linda three different times that he wasn't going to make it – and she remembers hearing him tell her. He also remembers sliding painlessly and without fear toward a bright light. "I guess if there is a reason for us to have gone through what we went through it's to be able to tell people who are scared of death that there is nothing to be afraid of," Mark said. Still, the Forsts are certainly happy to have the outcome that they did – as are their three children and six grandchildren. Related Links Emergency medicine specialists New Ulm Medical Center Emergency Department  Back to Health Edition |
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