Lyme Disease...Take #3

OK, so I got some good pictures and added a few bird species to my Life List.... But uh....I'm sorta payin' for the stupidity that went with me that trip.

We (Marty and I) were just about to exit the Wildlife Refuge in Brigantine, NJ, April 6, 2005, when suddenly we spot some white tailed deer to our left.... "Oh...how pretty...blah blah blah.." and then.... we see the Eastern Bluebird nest boxes...with mated pair. A lovely picture if ever there was one. Marty jumps out and Im fiddling with getting camera back out. "Damn!" My Nikkor 70-200mm lens jammed up. It took me an eternity to figure out how the mechanisms worked so I could unjam it (grrr) and then I was off to join my husband who now had amazing opportunities for pictures. He was sitting down, in a leaning back position that really made me appreciate his work at the gym... when suddenly I look down.

"Hon, you're sitting in deer dung." Now, it's worthwhile to mention that I have had to deal with Lyme Disease, it's diagnostic tests, lousy prognosis’ and untold research documents for 14 years.

“I’m outta here!” says I. He says he’ll be with me “in a minute” to which means…. ‘until I’m done’ as I’ve learned since our marriage.

I see a deer tick on my leg. I take it off. I do a cursory inspection. No other ticks to be found.

Skipping the story of our landscaping job, let’s get to 11 days later. I am getting ready for the shower and take a peak at the sunburn I got on my back (more stupidity) and what do I find? A pink bump and a near-perfect circle rash around it. The words, “Shit!!!” resonated from the bathroom and throughout the house. This is what the rash looks like (this is from a mirror reflection):

The moral of this story is ticks like me just a little too much. Marty is just fine (thankfully) but man… this just isn’t fair. For about 6 weeks prior to this bite I was feeling fantastic…no joint pain, no fatigue, no headaches…and all my energy back. I was still feeling great when I saw the rash. It wasn’t until I started the antibiotics that I started feeling all those fun symptoms come back.

At least I got some really good pictures of shorebirds that day. I’m sure I’ll be just fine but for the next few weeks I’ll deal with flu-like symptoms and my husband will test his tolerance of me, as I whine a bit here and there….

I deserve an ice cream cone, every day….