Marcy's Illustrated Illness Timeline

After 2 days of fever and then breaking out into a rash all over my body, I decided it was time to call the doctor. I called on Monday, and by the time I talked to the receptionist, the nurse called me back, the nurse talked to the doctor, and then the nurse called me again, they didn't have appointments left on Monday and set the appointment for Tuesday.

Having been in bed a lot, and afraid to do much lest I infect anyone else with whatever I have, I got creative with charting my symptoms. I knew she'd want to know what date the fever started, what date the rash started, etc. But I took it a little step further and added my (very crude) illustrations.

My doctor LOVED it - and she never shows any emotion. In fact, I kind of make it my quest to make her at least crack a smile when I'm there. I often do my typical jokey thing or make snarky remarks and she just looks at me and moves on. On rare occasions I've been able to get her to smile or even chuckle slightly. Well, what I called "Marcy's Illustrated Illness Timeline" did the trick. She read the whole thing and thought it was great, she showed tons of emotion! She also asked doctor-type questions along the way and I filled in the blanks about my symptoms.

After she checked me out (I still had the rash all over my body and had swollen lymph nodes in my arm pits), she asked if she could keep my diagram. I said yes - but I wanted a copy if possible (you know, for my blog!). She had her nurse make a copy and I heard the other nurses and doctors who were at the nurses station laughing and checking it out, which made me happy. Spreading my own special brand of cheer, I present to you:

Marcy's Illustrated Illness Timeline

Disclaimer: I do not in any way pretend to be an artist or illustrator.

The verdict from the doctor: still unknown, but she suspected either Parvovirus, commonly called "fifth disease" or Coxsackie virus (and yes, I kept giggling internally when they said it at the doctor's office and at the lab) commonly called "Hand foot and mouth disease."

Parvovirus would be the human variety - dog parvovirus is different and they do not cross species. Both viruses are pretty common and if you've had a toddler/preschooler, you'll probably know what they are. Turns out I was exposed to parvovirus as my nephew had it 2 weeks ago, so that is the more likely culprit. Both are just viruses (virusi?) and have to just get out of your system. It's just unusual to get them as an adult and the viruses are a little different in grownups (kinda like chicken pox vs. shingles - same virus, different manifestation).

Knowing I am leaving for the Middle East in 2 weeks, she also ordered a white blood cell count to make sure I'm not having any immune system issues. I also got some good anti-inflammatory drugs that have helped the joint swelling and pain considerably.

...

Hawk Eyes

Today, I went to the park. I'm still covered in a rash and my joints ache, but I can't stand to waste a sunny day by sitting inside when I could be observing wildlife. It was over 90 degrees today, so I decided to make it a relatively short venture. My plan, since I'm still achy, was to just find a quiet place and park it on a bench for a while with camera in hand.

I walked around a bit in this marshy area I like. Saw lots of birds, but wasn't able to capture all of them with the camera, they are too quick! And I only seem to see the frogs when they make a "peep!" and jump into the water after seeing me. Once I was drenched in sweat, I decided to sit on a bench in the shade. There were a lot of birds from this spot, but with all the trees, it's hard to capture them with the camera. Still enjoyable to watch them - many were eating the berries that are starting to ripen.

I heard a rustling noise to my right that sounded like something large. When I looked over, I first thought it was a groundhog or woodchuck - it was about the size of a basketball and looked brown and furry. There was a lot of brush, so I didn't get a very clear view of it, but then I saw its eyes and beak and realized it was a hawk or falcon or eagle.

I took a few photos as it looked right at me. Then it hopped forward and leaned down. I thought it was stalking some small prey in the brush and assumed at any moment I would see some commotion from that direction and the bird fly away with its meal. After several minutes, that did not happen. In fact, I saw no more movement from the direction of the bird, which was only about 15 feet from where I was sitting.

Before heading home, I decided to investigate the area. I figured when I got close, the bird would take flight. As I stepped into the brush, the only movement I saw was from hordes of flies converging on the feathered mass of the huge bird. It's body lay still in the grass. Twice I saw the bird shake the flies from its head, but that was the only movement I saw. It was obviously near death and the flies were wasting no time in the hot sun.

I didn't expect to find it dead, this majestic bird whose eyes had just been looking into mine. As I walked back to the car, I thought about the strange phenomenon of being the last living thing that another living thing saw before it died.

I have been the last living thing seen by a dying being before, both people and animals. I like to think it's an honor to have been that for another being, to be its last vision of this world. I hope my presence contributes to a gentle, empathic gateway to whatever realm waits for us in death. My experiences with death have been too often, but have also helped me to not be afraid of it. And I think being there when someone or something loses its grip on life connects you more closely to the spiritual.


*I now believe it was a Cooper's Hawk, but I'm not positive. It appeared to have died of natural causes (in other words, it wasn't shot).*
...

Random Thoughts from a Day Home Sick in Bed

I spent 2 solid days home sick this week. Symptoms were fever (topped at 102.2), body aches, nausea, and exhaustion. I could barely find the energy to get to the bathroom, but did have my phone available to send Tweets and my iPod for playing games (although my head hurt so badly, I couldn't play them). I had a lot of mindless TV on while I was awake, just because I couldn't concentrate on anything more cerebral than that. Later in day 2, as I started feeling a little better and the fever broke, I started writing down the random thoughts I was having. I seem to have a lot of random thoughts!

• Fevers make me feel all prickly, even on my head
• Those Sarah McLachlan commercials for the ASPCA (fight animal cruelty) make me want to kill myself
• Why am I still sweating???
• People who are home during the day must really need car insurance
• A power wheelchair really would improve my quality of life!
• My whole body hurts, especially my joints
• MonsterQuest on History might be my new favorite show
• Do you think I could break a rib with a hiccup? Feels like I did.
• Court shows teach you a good lesson: always get it in writing!
• Les Paul died. Bummer. :(
• Acetaminophen works better than ibuprofen for me. Good to know.
• Snake handling as a religious ritual is still legal in West Virginia
• I think it's a sign you are feeling better when you think your own body stinks
• A girl's name on a court show: "Soprecious"
• I think I would like a panic room, just for fun
• Being sick in the summer sucks. Having a fever in the summer really sucks.

Snuggie Love!

Just in time for the holidays (yes, the stores I've been to already have Christmas stuff out!!), Snuggie mania returns. Yes, even though I was sweating today, it's not too early to start thinking about keeping warm. Today on Facebook, I received links to 2 Snuggie-related items - Snuggies for Dogs and the "Snug Wow." I decided to post some of the funny Snuggie stuff I've seen here on my blog so you can keep up with the Pop-Cult of the Snuggie! Enjoy, minions!

New Snuggies!! (yes these are REAL)

Snuggie for Kids
(free slipper socks!)
Peekaru Baby Snuggie
A funny blog about the "Peakaru"
Weezer Snuggie (a Wuggie)

Snuggie for Dogs

(with free talking dog tag!)

Snuggies in Public
Snuggie Pub Crawl
Snuggie Fest
Snuggie Sightings

Snuggies in the News
Snuggie on ABC News
Snuggie Review
San Francisco Chronicle
New York Times

Snuggie Humor

Snuggie commercial parody

The WTF Blanket


In a Snuggie! Rap video


And this is my absolute FAVORITE one!
The SnugWow!

Ticked Off!

This morning, I woke up just a bit early. Did some eyebrow maintenance, and then got naked and turned on the shower. I put my hands on my hips while waiting for the water to get hot and then I felt… something. Still a little groggy (I am NOT a morning person), I thought it felt like something was just stuck to me (like a scab or a piece of something) at the back of my right hip.

So, I pulled. And it hurt, but I pulled the item right off. Looking at my fingers to see what it was, I at first thought it was a spider. I yelped and threw it into the shower. Looking at it again (still moving, of course), I realized it was a tick.

I started freaking out. I called for Sean to come take a look and make sure I got it, and make sure the place where the tick bit into me was OK and to look at the insect and see if he also thought it was a tick. And also, I needed him to check every inch of the rest of me and make sure it was the only one. The first thing he said was, “Do I need to get a match?” Apparently, he’s had more tick-removal experience than I have!

Of course, once I was assured my skin was OK, I ran to get the camera to take a picture of it for later identification and story telling purposes. It was a fast little bugger and I didn’t get a great shot of it before I decided to smash it. Sean tried to smash it with his fingers, but eventually I took a pen and just crushed the life right out of it. I was like, “My blood!!”

Sean said, “You’re lucky it didn’t really burrow in and you could just pull it off!”

I have this terrible fear of ticks. They are one of the most dreaded bugs to me, and their parasitic nature and blood-sucking-ness totally give me the heebie-jeebies! Thankfully, I have never had one on my flesh until today! But it was one of my biggest nightmares come to life!

Whenever I am outside where there might be a possibility ticks would get on me, I’m constantly saying “tick check!” And I don’t even wear “Off” bug repellant because there isn’t enough DEET in it (not even in the Deep Woods version, which has 25% DEET!). What I use is Sawyer Maxi Deet, which contains 95% DEET! Yeah!

I almost always wear this stuff, but did not when out for a nature walk this week. But, even though it was a prime “tick area,” I don’t think that’s where I got this tick. I think I would have noticed it before today since that was Wednesday, and also it would have been way more engorged with blood and embedded then it was. I think it is more likely that I got this tick from playing with a stray cat at my in-laws house yesterday. In fact, I did pick up and pet the cat, holding it on the very side of my body where I found the tick this morning.

I got in the shower to detox from the tick experience. I felt so… dirty! And anyone who knows me knows that I am militant about personal hygiene, so the whole tick thing just made me want to scrub my skin right off! While I was in the shower, Sean googled ticks to see if we could figure out what kind it was. It looks to me like it was probably a dog tick (I’m guessing American dog tick), which thankfully do not carry Lyme disease, but also do not usually bite people. Since it was not very embedded in my skin and because it was about the size of a pencil eraser, this is the most likely suspect. Deer ticks, which can carry Lyme disease, are usually very tiny.
Still, I’m supposed to keep the look out for fever and rash, as dog ticks can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and other diseases.

-- Note: the blurry pictures are of the tick that was on me, the clear photo is a picture from the web of an American dog tick --