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Plantain - The Wedding Saver

by Shoshanna Easling of Shoshanna Gardens.com

July 2004

It was Friday on a very beautiful day. The sun shone with a special delight on the black-eyed daisies, and the light breeze blew them very softly in the wind. They were dancing our wedding tune!

That very morning I had gone out with James’ parents and picked about 300 black-eyed daisies along with many other wildflowers. It was now afternoon, the day before our wedding. You can imagine how I was feeling excitement beyond my wildest imagination! James and I were in our Jetta, driving over to Gabe’s house. We had the sunroof open as we talked about last minute plans. In a burst of joy, I stood up through the sunroof yelling like a wild Indian. I felt like a girl in a fairy tale. Everything was so perfec….ooow, ouch! I grabbed at my eye as it started to throb and swell shut. The pain was really intense.

All I could think about was that my wedding is in 24 hours, and here I am going to have one eye swollen shut. A bee or yellow jacket had stung me twice, on both the top and bottom lid of my eye. As I fell back into my seat, James slowed the car and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I was groaning with pain, but I managed to blurt out, “I need plantain. Please, get me some plantain, quick!” Within one minute we were at Gabe’s house, and I jumped out of the car, searching frantically for plantain leaf. I found it and stuffed some of the green plant into my mouth and chewed it like a wild woman starved half to death. A few friends gathered to see the damages. I had a blister the size of the tip of my pinky on the top and bottom of my right eye. James’ city friend looked at me in sheer bewilderment and repulsion as I spit the green slime into my hand and smeared it on my blisters.

Within 4 minutes from the time I was stung, the plantain was busy at work on my bee sting. Fifteen minutes later, the blisters were gone, and within an hour, most of the swelling was gone. By the end of the day, you could not tell I had ever been stung. Plantain. . .good stuff. You gotta have it!