Fri, Jun 13, 2008 11:47:14 Bug seems sick and lethargic. We'll watch him for a day. He's still eating and when I checked him out he didn't seem to have any pain at any specific point on his body.
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 15:17:40 Bug seems to be getting worse. I'm going to take him in to the vet.
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 17:17:14 Bug is drooling and stuperous. Signs of rabies. And then he bit me.
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 18:17:09 Sent away from the first urgent care facility because they don't have the rabies vaccines. Now I'm at the Wellstar Cobb ER entertaining people with the apparent lunacy of my rabies claim.
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 18:19:20 Now I'll probably have to face my big fear in life... needles. But, it's a good opportunity to prove that it's not a full-blown phobia. Phobias are defined as irrational fears (mine is) that disrupt your life. In the case of needles I'd have to decline treatment or not go to the ER in a situation like this for it to be a phobia.
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 18:20:35 Just waiting in the poorly named Waiting Room. The Zoo would be more descriptive.
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 18:47:35 Seen a doc. We're doin' the rabies series. Five shots over something like 20 days. Happy doesn't really describe it.
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 18:50:49 Three years ago I wouldn't be here... I'd conclude rabies is incredibly unlikely and assume the risk. Yet another example of my kids making me a better person. Just not worth the risk with them in the picture.
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 18:55:37 Correction: eight shots over forty days.
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 19:06:20 Bonus: tetnus shot! I overfloweth with joy. First shot done. Two more on their way.
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 19:36:32 Mega Bonus: four more shots tonight!
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 19:42:38 The right arm's pretty sore at the injection site. The first two were a normal fluid... no big deal. The last four were really thick sludge. The nurse grabbed them with two hands and said she was pushing as hard as she could with her thumbs just to get it into my arm. I felt it. And everybody there said I'll be sore tomorrow.
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 19:50:46 All done. $388... half off because I paid today. Oh yeah, I have no health insurance.
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 21:11:21 Back home. Bug's still lethargic but Terp was able to get him to eat a little bit. He's resting so we'll watch over him tonight. Theories abound as to what's ailing him. I just hope he gets better tomorrow.
Fri, Jun 13, 2008 21:44:27 So why the rabies alarm? First, the vet brought it up and when I pressed she wouldn't rule it out. Second, when Terp did some research and read it back to me I spent some time observing Bug. He definitely fits the symptoms strongly. Third, bats. A huge proportion of rabies cases are traced back to bats. The nature area about 1/4 mile from the house has big bat houses to protect/grow them. At night I see them darting around all the time. Bug and Pupper are outside at night sometimes. Thus, the concern.
"Rabies is an acute and deadly viral infection of the central nervous system. It is one of the most terrifying diseases known to man."
Heart warming. Which got me reading about treatment. And I found this:
"Although all rabies vaccines licensed in the U.S. induce protective antibody levels after three doses in nearly 100% of recipients, it is important to complete the dose schedules recommended for individual circumstances (see Dose Schedule). Previously immunized people still must receive two additional doses of the vaccine if exposed to the virus, and the vaccine is almost 100% effective in these cases as well."
So I'll probably make it. Although I'm not terribly fond of the word "nearly" right now.
SoCon08