The day that got ruined

This morning, I was SUPER stoked because I had been invited to fly to Fresh and Easy‘s corporate headquarters to try food from a really cool new line of meals they’ll be offering in-store soon called “Kitchen to Go.” The Kitchen to Go line is made up of 150 new meal items that are chef-created (think: street tacos, Beijing beef, lettuce wraps, Caprese salad, lobster macaroni and cheese — good stuff!) and designed to please your palette, whether it’s just you eating or the whole family. The goal is to put delicious, healthy food on your table (skip the drive-thru!) and hopefully allow even non-cooking types to enjoy home-style meals quickly and conveniently. The meals are prepped in Riverside, California, and overnighted to stores within twelve hours of being made. Additionally, meals range multiple cuisines (American, Asian, Mexican, Italian, and many meet special dietary needs (vegetarian, gluten-free).

Sneak peek at new items via Twitter user @stephaniequilao

I learned more about the meal line via Twitter today, as I did not get to attend the event. I made it as far as the airport, but ultimately spent the morning in urgent care. Backing up here, last night I noticed three swollen bites on my skin in three different places. They itched, like bug bites do, but they were red, flat and hot. Having big plans the next day, I decided to take a Benadryl and hope for the best. When I woke up, the bites weren’t better, but they weren’t worse either. By the time I got ready, I was nauseous (I thought it was pre-flight nerves) and the bites were another inch larger. This was concerning.

Ultimately, I had to make the decision that I needed to take the bites seriously, and I had to make the horrible call to F&E and tell them the news. At urgent care I was scolded for not coming sooner and was told I had a rapidly spreading infection and needed to start antibiotics right away — the ones strong enough for treating MRSA/staph. I also was told if I developed a fever to head straight to the ER. Super fun.

Once I got the meds I needed from the pharmacy, I headed home, feeling like crud and spent the rest of the day in bed with chills, trying not to scratch. It’s now evening, and the worst of the bites is currently a 7-inch red, hot welt. The others are at least two inches. After I sent a photo of the worst bite to my friend, who is a nurse, she immediately said “it’s cellulitis.” I Googled (I know, bad idea for illness stuff!) and the cellulitis info was a dead-on match for all of my symptoms. Let me just say cellulitis SUCKS. And it can happen any time your skin is broken.

I’m so super bummed to have missed the Fresh and Easy event. super bummed. I write about Fresh and Easy and use their products a lot, not because they ask me to, but because I really appreciate them as a company and am simply a genuinely happy customer. (For more detailed reasons on why, take a look at this post.)

I am more afraid of spiders than this woman now.

So, if you ever get bitten by a bug or spider, you should wash the area with soap and water immediately. Also, I was likely bitten while sitting right next to a citronella candle, so this summer you may want to consider topical (whether commercial or natural) insect repellants. Cellulitis was such an unwelcome surprise to my day, I hope my experience with it may stop a few future cases in their tracks.

[featured images via fresh and easy, howishow and island crisis]

Natali

Natali Carrera is a full-time working mom, wife, web-writer and recovering Target addict. Oh let’s just be honest. She’s not likely recovering.

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