The Bite 003: Let’s Not Get Intubated Today, Thanks.

Once I was admitted to the hospital, the debate began: ICU or step-down unit?

Since I could still speak and (kind of) explain what was happening in my body, they went with the step-down unit. Big mistake? Who knows. But the night that followed was… dramatic.

Three times that first night, the rapid response team was called. Three times. My throat would randomly close, my chest would tighten, and just like that — I’d go from fine to full-on gasping. No one could figure it out.

Then I heard it.

One ICU nurse whispered, “If we bring her to the ICU floor, we’re going to intubate.”

And right there, I mentally sat up and said, “F**k no.”That was not happening. Not on my watch. Thank God my mom was with me — my emotional support human and the only reason I didn’t flip over the hospital bed and run for the hills.

At that point, I knew it wasn’t a random rash. This was bigger.

They put me on a liquid diet and continued injecting me with steroids and mystery meds for 48 hours straight. Every time, the same conversation came back: “Are you sure you didn’t change your routine? New soap? New makeup? Maybe detergent?”

No. No. And no. Again, no.

Then — finally — one doctor walked in with a theory. She said, “Okay, this is a long shot… but there’s a tick from Texas — the Lone Star Tick. It has cousins up here in New Jersey. It can cause something called Alpha-Gal Syndrome. It’s rare, but I can’t come up with anything else.”

And that was it.

That was the spark.

Cue Google. Cue WebMD. Cue every AI app I could download while laying in a hospital gown with a line in my arm.

The first break in the case had arrived.