Near Death by Artichokes!

Current mood: groggy

Okay, so we all know I'm a bit of a freak. I have strange allergies. I'm allergic to artichokes, of all things. I found this out many years ago while working @ Providence Hospital in the medical records dept. I decided to buy lunch in the cafeteria one day, a pasta, artichoke and pesto dish. It was great, and I loved the artichokes, as I'd never had them before. But within a few minutes, I started feeling not so good. Chest tightening, mouth and throat start swelling.... I was having an allergic reaction! Luckily a little benedryl kicked it in the rear and I was okay. Fast forward to today. My friend Conner was over doing some laundry and picked up an artichoke for his lunch while we were at the grocery store. He brought it back here and cooked it up. Somehow, during the process of cooking it, he managed to contaminate my soup (at least that's what I think happened). Within a few minutes of eating said soup, my mouth starts swelling, my chest feels like I have a pile of bricks is on it and of course my inhaler doesn't help. Luckily my next door neighbor had some prescription strength benedryl, so that took care of it once again. I need to just buy some and keep it on me for moments like this, sheesh! All it took was a couple drops of water the stupid things were boiled in to throw me into an allergic fit. argh... I hate artichokes!