What do bees have against the disabled?????

[Eileen]

This is pretty much my worst nightmare.

By DENISE PETSKI, AP
updated 9/16/2011 5:47:35 AM ET 2011-09-16T09:47:35



LOS ANGELES — Thousands of angry bees swarmed a man in a wheelchair, sending him and three others who came to his aid to the hospital in the Southern California city of Santa Ana.

The attack also shut down a street and forced the evacuation of several businesses while beekeepers removed the hive, which was estimated to contain 60,000 bees.

The trouble started at a storage yard when a man in a wheelchair apparently disturbed the hive, causing the bees to bombard him, Santa Ana fire Capt. Steven Snyder said.

"He was attacked and stung over 60 times and had fallen out of the wheelchair and was yelling for help," Snyder said.

The man's cries attracted the attention of three bystanders who ran to his aid.

'Very impressive' rescue
The bees were so aggressive that the three men had to retreat initially, but they dove back in and managed to pull the man to safety, Snyder said.



"They probably saved his life," Snyder said.

All four men had difficulty breathing and suffered rashes, nausea and vomiting.

They were taken to hospitals

[sherocksandsherolls]

Bless those bystanders! I am allergic..that is a scary story!

[smokymtn memories]

I saw that on the news! It scared me too! I'm allergic, and have been stung twice.....hornets the first time, I disturbed a big nest in dad's barn...wasps the second time, I was washing windows one fine spring day! Both times resulted in a fast trip to the doctor for a shot to breathe easier......

Jim does a pretty good job of keeping the bees away from the house now. But every spring the wasps and wood boring bees come back and ry to make homes here.

That man is lucky to be alive!

[Crashbang]

hi eileen- this bee story was also referenced on other cc thread, and i'm going to repeat here what i wrote there, because i want to increase awareness of the
risks that stings can cause us.
here's my repeat comment:

what a nightmare! and even worse, he (and the guys who helped him escape) developed anaphylactic shock reactions from all those stings,
which may mean they'll now have to live with allergy and
other immune system dysfunction and carry an epi-pen at all times.

six years ago i was stung multiple times on my legs by
red fire ants (Solenopsis invicta Buren)
without feeling the stings, and developed anaphylaxis later in the day...
it's created several additional health hassles--food allergies, new respiratory problems, the need to take antihistamines daily and to carry an epi-pen in addition to the usual sci accessories.

i hope the bee-stung w/c user and the 3 brave rescuers and 2 firemen who were also stung while saving him will all recover quickly.

[betheny]

Aaarrgghhh, fire ants! Once, in a giant flood in Houston, huge clumps of them were sheltering on live, drowning animals-cows, dogs, hell giraffes. Bastard ants tortured those dogs etc. literally to death!

I was attacked by a yellow jacket last weekend. I pretended he was a bear and I was a possum. He went to seek more lively prey.

[Mona~on~wheels]

Oh no! Glad those bystanders had the courage to save him.