BEE's.....a pain in the....BUTT!

This problem actually started in the mid-90's. I was a teenager at Girls Camp in Belfair, WA-and being new to the area (having just moved to WA from Virginia) I wasn't feeling all that happy about spending a week with people I didn't know, in a setting I was unfamiliar with, and then the worst thing happened....we found out the hard way that I was VERY allergic to bees! My leg was stung on one of the first days there, and by the 4th day I couldn't walk due to the fact that my ENTIRE leg was swollen, red and causing an intense amount of pain! Well-up to this day in my life I had no idea that bees would have this affect on me-so I had no quick remedy like an epipen on hand, etc. (Although you would think SOMEONE at that camp would have called my parents at these signs, or at the very least administered some Benadryl????) Nope! So needless to say, when my parents picked me up on the last day, I was taken to the hospital-thrown on a table, depanced, my parents holding me down on each side and multiple nurses giving me 4 shots (2 in each butt cheek) while I screamed bloody murder! NOT FUN-NOT FUN AT ALL!!!! A memory that lives on with me to this day! Very scary. I have been very cogniscent of the buzzing creatures ever since and lucky enough to have not been stung after that terrible encounter.....that was until our "memorable" trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park this last summer!

I have been to this park a thousand times and again-never had a problem. Someone should have said "not so fast Kristi-today is your LUCKY day!" because right when we walked through the front gates on this particularly hot and humid Escondido day, BUZZZZZZ-OUCH! It all happened so fast that I didn't even have time to think before I reacted. I didn't hear the bee, didn't see the bee-but I sure as heck FELT the dang thing! A wasp had a quick attack of my neck (which I admit is awfully meaty these days-that must have been the attraction I guess) and I swatted it. Too bad that didn't work, because it stung me 3 more times! Until I finally smashed it on my neck....this all happened in a milli-second and I screamed bloody murder during the process. It was like someone overtook my body and I was hysterical. Flashbacks of the hospital as a teen and needles, the pain, etc. flew through my mind and I freaked! A park ranger quickly came over, looked at my neck, said the stinger was still inside and sent me to the medic on site. I was given anti-venom ointment (which was another unpleasant feeling) and sent on my merry way. ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS LEAVE THE STINKING PARK! Then.... I saw EmmaLee. Poor baby-the look of terror in her eyes was unbearable for me. She was in complete shock from what she just saw happen to me and my reaction to it (having no basis for comparison as to what a bee IS let alone it's bite) and you could see it written all over her face-she would NEVER forget it now. She clung to me as if she could remedy the situation and the shooting pain in my neck and arm kept me from picking her up and just loving on her. I tried as best as I could to reassure her as we walked through the rest of the park looking at the various wild animals, but everywhere we went there were more and more of the nasty little things. Apparently the bee population has grown immensely since the big fires they had down there-the bees are looking for water and have decided to make the "forest like atmosphere" of the park-their new home....ALL OF THEM! How nice. Needless to say-we finally left, all in bad moods and chalked it up to just bad timing.
Well-since we've been home from SoCal Emma has looked at every bug and crawling creature as a terrifying BEE! Flies, gnats, ants-you name it. We have told her time and time again that they are not bees and everything is ok. I've shown her pictures of bee's and compared them to what she THOUGHT was a bee....nope-the girl is convinced she is surrounded by killer bees!
Last night just about broke my heart though. At about 2 a.m. Mike and I were startled by an alarming sound of a terrified Emma screaming "HELP MOMMA HELP-I NEED HELP" from her sleep in her room. I ran in there to find her still sleeping but in hysterics. She was desperately trying to swat a "bee" away from her and claimed she had been stung in the eye. I turned on the light and calmly tried to wake her up from this night terror, only to make matters worse for her. She woke up and saw a piece of black string/fluff on her pillow and had a complete conniption-there it was..."THE BEE"! She screamed and slid down the stairs to the bed faster than lighting and rushed into bed with her dad. Her little body was shaking, tears streaming down her face as she screamed "BEE, BEE, BEE-HELP ME...PLEASE....". I got into bed, Em in the middle and we both just held her tight, kissed her little forehead and stroked her hair....what could I say or do to rectify how I reacted that day at the park? It was one of the worst feelings I had as a parent-I had done something-though indirectly-and it has affected her to this extent???? What am I going to do? Bee's...they just continue to be a pain in MY butt!