Sometimes when the earth cracks open you fall inside. It isn’t a sweeping plunge from a cliff involving the use of gravity, velocity, or sanity. It is as if, one moment, you are riding the rough tide of a sunny day and the next you are snapped under the waves of a new moon sea … Continue reading →

…back to the Dr. D’s office of infectious disease and the guy that is going to make me better because that’s how a good story would go… Day 23 “You’ve been poisoned. It’s not a bug bite. You ingested it. What kind of fish did you eat? Grouper? Snapper? Uh-oh. “I ate snapper.” “It’s Ciguatera Fish … Continue reading →

Day 24 I am hitting every light trying not to pretend that the fact that I’m still sick and the answer lies with this guy is probably not the best scenario. I am sure that I do not want to go to a small space where a bunch of people are infected with God knows … Continue reading →

No response from infectious disease. No answers from my doctor. Not a single thing I see. Like Robinson Crusoe, as primitive as can be. Wait and see. For 14 days and nights I spend most of the time in my bed trying to stay warm enough not to burn, yet, not too warm that I … Continue reading →

Neurotropic virus – a virus capable of attacking or affecting the nerve cells, or does so preferentially. Day 6 Last night I was alone with the kids. D had to work out of town for work and I realize I am afraid. I am trying to find a place in my head that can put this. I have to keep it … Continue reading →

Dengue Fever – an infectious disease of the tropics transmitted by mosquitoes and characterized by rash and aching head and joints. Later, Day Four Ka-pow! [The smell of smoke and the sound of me blowing the ER nurse’s mind with these symptoms hangs in the air] Doc comes in to tell me that they tested … Continue reading →

Vector-borne disease – the term commonly used to describe an illness caused by an infectious microbe that is transmitted to people by blood-sucking arthropods. Day Four After a decision that invisible stinging skin, electrocution by cold water, and a secretly broken tongue may require more than a Benadryl, I make a flurry of calls on … Continue reading →

Virus: a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of an organism. Bacteria:  a member of a large group of unicellular microorganisms lacking organelles and an organized nucleus, including some that can cause disease. Toxin: a poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living cells or organisms and is … Continue reading →

Virus: a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of an organism. Bacteria – a member of a large group of unicellular microorganisms lacking organelles and an organized nucleus, including some that can cause disease. Day Two He is back with the water. I am fifty shades of grey on this … Continue reading →

Swim with the Fishes Day One After fifteen minutes watching this ridiculous posse of cats try to catch a dog-sized iguana, we realize our taxi is not coming. We call the excursion guy and he says that, now, we won’t make it in time and they cannot wait. I am annoyed, disappointed, and somewhat relieved. … Continue reading →