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I believe that for those of you who have asked in the past about my job as a beekeeper, you are aware that due to the marvelous invention that is the bee suit, and the timing at which I became gainfully employed here at UC Davis, that I have been stung a dozen times, at best.

What made my job so fantastic was that, unlike most individuals, I rarely experience swelling and tenderness following being stung. However, last Sunday, as I was working a particularly temperamental colony of bees in the city of Winters, one lone bee managed to deliver an uncharacteristically painful dose of venom in my left index finger. Continuing on the subject of unusual, this time my finger enlarged to the point of being unflexible, and deformed half my hand with it!

All this would have been fine, as was the time the next day when some bee stung my on the scalp and my ears felt slightly cramped, but it was the attack on my collarbone last Wednesday that really put the nail in the coffin:


Within 15 minutes of being stung a single time, I had a full body itch, and a really attractive rash up and down my arms, which culminated in labored breathing and an alterned heartbeat several minutes later!

Currently, I am working through the process of getting my HMO to send me to a specialist, so I can verify this wasn't a fluke, but for now, I offer you the chance to enjoy the full irony that has become characteristic of my life:

I, the beekeeper, am becoming dangerously allergic to honeybee venom!