Son2 looks forward to his birthday for the whole month before. And as for his party, well let’s just say it was meant to be the highlight of his year. Thirteen boys (it did occur to me that this might be unlucky for some) coming to bounce at a new US-style trampoline park, followed by pizza and ice cream cake. What could go wrong?

The day of his birthday party finally dawned. Son2 came downstairs in the morning a little tired, having had trouble sleeping he was so excited. We sat on the sofa together, watching TV.

I felt a bite, some kind of insect bite – possibly an ant. Wow, that’s itchy, I thought. I put it down to the fact the bug had crawled across me, and bitten me several times. 

Next thing I knew, I was itching all over. Like my skin was on fire. The intensity of it was astounding – a thousand microscopic knives just under my skin. The urge to furiously scratch was overwhelming and I turned as red as a lobster.

Then I started feeling really ill. Looking back, it’s quite obvious what was happening (I’ve had it before, but never from an insect bite). I was suffering from anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that’s much more common than you’d think. You get this strange sense of doom (often the first sign), accompanied by a cascade of scary symptoms such as wheezing, trouble swallowing, drop in blood pressure and fainting.

Scratching frantically at my scalp, I found DH and told him something was wrong. “I think you’d better take me to hospital,” I cried, panicked.

It took him totally by surprise, and not quite able to comprehend, he replied, “I think you’ve got head lice!”

“No, really! I haven’t!” I countered. “C’mon, we’ve got to go now.”

Fortunately, to cut a long story short, we easily made it on quiet roads to City hospital where I was treated for anaphylaxis with adrenaline and the reaction was stopped in its tracks – as was Son2’s party.

Sorry Son2 – you’ll enjoy the party re-do in two weeks’ time!

The best-laid plans and all… Damn ant.

Also read: The ninja lunge (and food allergies)