Agoraphobics in the Making

Today my small sweet loves were out on the deck squirting each other with water squirters and smearing chalk all over the place while I was folding laundry on the other side of the glass door. Suddenly the girls are pounding and screaming and crying absolutely hysterically at the door for me to let them in (they can actually open the door but they were apparently too distraught to think to do it). It took me a few minutes to calm them down enough to even get them to speak clearly. I found out that they were upset because they thought they heard a bee buzzing.

My poor babes, they are destined to a life of hysteria and panic. I'm nearly sure they will end up like me, watching the outdoors from behind a glass door. I wish they would listen to me when I tell them that they have nothing to be afraid of because they are not allergic to bees. We had them both tested as infants be to sure.

I found out that I was allergic to insect stings while undergoing a long series of testing before my adoption back in Ukraine. Thankfully I had never been stung before then because I go into immediate anaphylactic shock. Since coming to America I have been stung 3 times. The experience of going into shock is absolutely traumatizing and I am willing to admit that I am completely hysterical whenever I hear a buzzing, even if it is just a fly.

The first two times I was stung I was with family members because I was still a young child. They were able to inject me with my EpiPen nearly immediately and get me to the hospital quickly, so although it is always terrifying experience, I didn't feel completely out of control. The third time I was stung I was at a pool party at a friends house. I was climbing up the diving board when I was stung on the leg by a bee. I passed out from lack of oxygen before I could even get to my EpiPen which was near the house in my bag. When I fell over I cracked my head open on the concrete. Thank the Lord one of my friends found my EpiPen and figured out how to use it before I died or sustained any permanent damage to my brain or other organs. I do have a large scar on my head, but it is covered by hair so even that isn't a big deal now. The biggest scar that day left me with was a realistic, albeit phoba-esque, view of my allergies. I have never been able to fight the panic that overcomes me when I hear that buzzing sound since then.

And now my girls, just two and one, are acting the same way because they are learning that is how to respond to insects. Suggestions would be appreciated, but I'm not sure there's anything I can do about it.