Two wasp stings nearly cost a Heybridge woman her life as a sharp increase of call-outs to deal with the striped pests was reported in mid-Essex.
Recovering - Michaela Fairless gets a kiss from daughter Lucy Ellen after her life-threatening ordeal Picture: ROB SAMBROOK
Michaela Fairless, 30, suffered anaphylactic shock a potentially fatal reaction when she was stung twice on the wrist by a wasp while sitting in a friend's garden near her home in Wood Road.
Conscious throughout her six-hour ordeal, Mrs Fairless, who has a daughter, Lucy Ellen, eight, suffered violent spasms, choking and breathlessness as her airways and throat became swollen.
Her mother, Vera Revell, drove her to Maldon's Longfield Medical Centre where Dr Richard De Souza, with practice and pharmacy staff, fought to stabilize her condition with nebulisers, Adrenalin and hydrocortisone injections.
"I wasn't improving and I was very seriously ill so I was airlifted to Broomfield Hospital in the air ambulance because they didn't think I would make it through the rush-hour traffic," said Mrs Fairless.
"I was terrified but they worked hard to keep me relaxed and calm."
A nursing team met Mrs Fairless on arrival at the Chelmsford hospital and her condition was finally stabilised using injections, fluids and oxygen.
When she returned to Longfield Medical Centre the following day to thank staff for saving her life "they said they didn't expect to see me alive."
Published Tuesday July 27, 2004
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