Update: Good bus driver, bad snake

[Guest guest]

We went to Småland (a province that borders Scania, where we live) this past weekend. The reason we went was a combined birthday and retirement party for one of 's colleagues, Carina, held in the summer house Carina and her husband owns in the forested highlands of Småland. We weren't too enthusiastic about going away for most of the few days was at home this first week of her long distance commuting, but not much to do about that (the party was very nice, the food excellent, as I think I have mentioned before, it was just the timing that wasn't absolutely ideal for us personally, but what can you do?).We arrived to the nearest town by bus (we went by train most of the way, but for the last part of the journey we had to go by bus), and were supposed to meet Carina's daughter at the bus station, and she was to drive us to the summer house. We arrived in the town in question, and at what we thought was the bus station (it sort of looked like it could have been), and got off the bus. Only to, too late, discover that we were at the hospital not at the bus station. Looking at the map on the iPhone (great invention!) we gathered that it was at least a 20 minutes walk to the bus station, and we were already a little late. But, what can you do? Start walking, I suppose. And try to get hold of Carina's daughter on the phone. Then, just as we picked up our bags and started to walk, we saw another bus drive up to the hospital, and we thought that it might also be headed for the bus station, just like the bus we had mistakenly gotten off. We asked the driver:"Excuse us, will you be driving to the bus station?"His, somewhat confusing, reply was:"Do you think that I should?"I don't quite know what we answered to that, but he clarified:"Do you want to go there?"We explained how we had been on a bus bound for the bus station, and left it by mistake.He said:"Oh, well...This is actually the end of the line...but I suppose I've got time to drive you there. Jump in."And he did drive us there, in the bus that wasn't really going there, and on his spare time. And free of charge, too. Now that is one very good bus driver! Then on to a nice, and not too crowded party. The weather was perfect (especially important since it was an outdoor party) sunny but not too hot. The down side was an unusually high amount (unusual even for the forests of Småland) of several species of hors flies (all of them the kinds that bites, of course...). And lets not forget the mosquitos that the forests of Småland (with the many lakes where mosquitos breed like crazy) are so famous for. Like I said to when she commented on how beautiful the surroundings were (and they really were!), with the forest, the mountains and the lakes: "Yes, sure, it's all very beautiful. But I find the experience of being constantly eaten alive somehow distracts me from the beauty..." I was taking my antihistamines, on the maximum dose (doubled my normal dose), just as much to avoid reactions from the insects bites, as to keep my allergy to grass under control. The next morning and I woke up early, before everyone else, and decided to take a walk by the lake, it was really, really beautiful in the morning sun (although "the killer insects from hell", as I was starting to refer to all of the annoying, biting, things as a group, were also awake, and kind of a distraction still...). And suddenly, as I was walking through the grass by the lake, something bit or stung me on the right foot (I was wearing sandals. Big mistake!, next time I visit Småland in the summer, I will be wearing full protective gear...). It felt like something slamming onto the foot and then a burn, not quite like the other fly bites (and by then I had started to learn to tell the difference between the species by the way the bite felt, and by if it was bleeding afterwards... as had most of the party guests, it was a big topic of conversation during the party...). But what I found most annoying was how the burn just went on and on. I made some comment about how that burn from the bite I just got wouldn't go away. asked if it was one of the biting flies, and I said that "Don't think so. I guess it was a wasp, or a killer bumble bee, or a biting ant, or any other of all the mean, people eating things in this place." (can you tell I was losing temper with the lovely insects...).Back in "our" guest house, we lay down on the beds to rest a bit before breakfast, and I noted that the foot as such was swollen (not enormously, but a bit much for an insect bite) and I commented that it's a good thing I already have a maximum dose of antihistamine in my system, it's probably keeping the swelling down. When we went up to the main house for breakfast, I asked Carina if they had any Salubrin (a common Swedish brand of cooling gel used for insect bites) for my foot. She asked what bit me, and I said I hadn't really seen what it was, but that it was something in the grass by the lake. The mention of the grass by the lake did make her react (she had been warning us about vipers there), and she asked if she could have a look. And yes, she was right, it was a viper bite (with very distinct marks from the two fangs), not an insect bite. She put some cortisone cream on, instead of Salubrin. She wanted to drive us to the hospital, but I was *not* going to miss our bus, and then train, out of insect land!! So we didn't go. We had breakfast and left as planned instead. The general recommendation is to always go to the nearest hospital, but what they'll do if you come there with a viper bite is to treat with cortisone and antihistamines (for small to medium reactions, like mine), or with serum (the antidote kind, if you are having a strong, systemic, reaction), and then put you on observation for a few hours, to make sure you are not developing a systemic reaction (it doesn't always come immediately). And I figured that I was already treating it with both antihistamines (if indirectly) and cortisone, and that I could observe myself (plus, when we were closer to civilization, we could get to a hospital quite easily if need be). In short, a good bus driver and a bad snake shaped a good portion of our weekend. At least now I know what a viper bite feels like (I've never had one before, and if I can avoid it I not planning on another one...). I never did get ill from it, and the swolling is down. The ache and burn are gone too. I still have the fang marks as a memento though...love/Reb