Idiopathic Viral Leprosy-like Disease

What I have learned in vet school is when it doubt, call it idiopathic (meaning you have no clue), SO, I'm calling it Idiopathic Viral Leprosy-like Disease (distantly related to Karla Syndrome).

As you can see, my finger has gotten worse, but on the plus side, my ear has stopped bleeding!

If you remember, I went to the human doctor and neither of them knew what was eating my finger. I ignored it (always a good policy) then it started to crack one day. When I looked closer, I noticed that the spots had spread. So what do I do? I ask a vet. My profs didn't have a clue, so after class on Friday, after Bacteriology, we're standing around looking at my weird holy finger disease. We decided it was probably fungal or viral from my garden and suppressing my finger's immune system. I needed a way for my finger to recognized and kill whatever was eating my finger. But how do you go about treating something if you don't know what it is? You guess!

One friend declares "it's wart seeds." I was thoroughly amused by this. Whatever it was, warts are viral, and they sell wart medicine at the grocery store here, so why not?

Friday evening I stabbed the spots with a scalpel blade to see what was in them: clear transudate.

Sunday, I got Dr. Scholl's Liquid Corn/Callus Remover (Salicylic acid 17% w/w, Alcohol 18% v/v, and Ether 53% v/v) for $20EC. I slathered the clear liquid all over my finger where the spots were one time. I'm glad I didn't follow directions by adding the stuff 3-4 times per day! I thought, this doesn't really work. Covered it with a band-aid, and ignored it.

The next evening I uncover my finger and it's pale. At first I think it's because of the band-aid, but then I realize it's due to the corn/callus remover. I'm impressed and cover my finger back up.

This morning I was showing my finger to all my fellow back-of-the-class classmates during Bacteriology (mainly to gross them out). It was really creepy because the whole tip of my finger was numb! Then the skin started to slough off, so of course, I picked at it. Eventually I was able to go to the nurse and put a fresh band-aid with Neosporin on it (don't want to complicate this finger any more than I already have).

Right now I'm re-wrapping it. The initial picts didn't turn out as good, but I thought I'd post the ones from today. Looks pretty bad doesn't it!? Can you see the spots??? (Click on the picts to make them larger.)

The nurse said I take the cake for weird problems: the idiopathic nightly rashes 1st semester, the cardiac problems, the bleeding ear, the holy finger.

Mango the Mouser

Born on the 19th of September, 2007, I came to my current residence a mere 103 days prior to now.

This captor is worse than the one previously. She continues to brutally toss me outside into the cold, cruel night… sometimes alone! Try as I might to return to safety, two monster mongrels guard the door, often pinning me to the floor!

I’d relocate if I weren’t addicted to the dry nuggets that are kept in the cabinet. The mongrels receive moist, cooked chunks that are far superior in quality to my simple nuggets, no doubt designed to thwart my spirit. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I am occasionally able to sneak a bite of these superior quality provisions.

In an attempt to show the mutts my ferociousness, last week I decapitated a lizard, leaving it at the door for all to see. To my horror, no one noticed, so this week I wanted to try with something larger, a mouse perhaps?

Last night as I waited for my captor to return home, I saw my opportunity: a small mouse scurrying about the garden. I deftly incapacitated him! He was not a hard catch for a professional such as myself. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities. My plan was again ruined by my captor, as my mouse was taken from me and dismissively tossed away!

To show my distain I yowled loudly through out the night. Eventually I chose to enter the abode, sans the mongrels, who were patrolling the yard. Starving, I ate my fill of nuggets, then curled up on my place among the covers and legs. I will make another attempt next week, and each week after, if I must, to prove to them that I am a cat!

Ahem, let's make that 2 mice in 2 days! Hear me MEOW!

Easter Egg Sky

This was actually taken several months ago, but sure is pretty. It's the real view from my house. It's like this fairly often, ie spectacular. Amazing how Heaven (St. Kitts/Paradise) and Hell (Ross/this semester of vet school) can be in the same place.

It's raining right now. Mango is passed out next to me, and I have a snoring dog on either side of the bed. Bacteriology test is Tuesday (I'm so not motivated). Last week was Pharmacology and Neurology. Week before was Virology and Pathology. ONE more month until our 2 week Spring Break, then 4th semester starts. I have quite a bit of exams between now and then, so maybe I shouldn't be so optimistic. I've also started drinking coffee (Godiva brand to accompany my expensive taste). I'm losing my $13,000/semester tan. Have a plan to counter act that little problem though; will post answer soon.

An Earwig Perhaps?

When I woke up on Wednesday my right ear started to bleed profusely and wouldn't stop. I went to the nurse and she scheduled an apointment for a dr. Dr said no infection, looks bruised. Just bruised? I have no idea how the inside of my ear, barely in front of my ear drum, can get bruised. My friend told me about Earwigs that burrow into the brains of humans through the ear and therein lay their eggs. So I looked it up online and found this:

The Texas Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the Department of Health has issued a warning surrounding earwig infestations in the state. The earwig is a small insect, with forceps-like antennae, many jointed feelers and a pincher-like beak at the end of it’s tail. They mate in the cooler days of autumn and prefer to engage their mating behavior on vegetables of the squash and gourd variety. During the Halloween season, pumpkins are of particular concern for transmission of these parasites to humans.

These insects are quite insidious, the fertilized female will attach herself to hair, clothing and/or skin, and under the cover of darkness wend her way into the ear canal, burrowing then through the middle and inner ear to the brain. Upon reaching the brain, the earwig first severs the cranial nerve, which serves as both a blessing and a curse to the victim. Whereas the victim suffers no pain thereafter, the victim is also unaware of the progressive degeneration of cerebral tissue.

Over the course of several days, the female burrows a network of tunnels through the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain, implanting her eggs as she digs along. After she has deposited her entire brood of approximately 1000 eggs, she emerges in the sinus cavity where she expires. The eggs hatch after about 4 days of incubation. Immediately after they pass through the pupae stage, about 2 days later, each larva burrows further into the brain, shredding brain tissues and consuming it for nourishment. The victim will usually die a horrible and debilitating death about a week later as the larvae reach maturity.

The entire process of host infestation to host death spans only about 2 weeks, so recognizing the symptoms and seeking treatment is of immediate concern.

If you experience any of the following symptoms, seek medical attention immediately: Bleeding from the ears, fever over 103 F for more than a day, heart palpitations, migraine-like headaches and/or sudden speech impairment.

This is an old wives' tale. But check out the links, it's pretty cool. Earwigs are neither carnivorous nor parasitic. I see them in my garden all the time, so when I was reading about them online, I was almost in tears laughing. It's amazing what some people think, and I know I'm gullible.

I also have tiny spots on my left index finger. As though something is eating my left index finger. There are little holes in it, but it doesn't hurt. I have no idea what that is, so I asked the dr. Dr didn't have a clue either and just gave me a strange look... the type of look that says this person should be locked up for their own good! My guess is that I picked up a fungal or bacterial infection from digging in the dirt. Could be viral. Friend suggested (same friend) leprosy, which happens to be on this island. I doubt it only because the early stages of leprosy tends to cause nerve problems in your hand way before it rots off.

Seems I've picked up yet another unknown jungle bug. Trying to stay well though.

The Garden

I'm not sure if anyone remembers, but I started a garden when I first got down here. It consisted of a few onions and misc tomato and other seeds in an ice cube tray on my balcony. It failed miserably. I'm awful with plants.

When I moved to my current apartment, I asked the landlord if I could dig up the weeds and make a garden on either side of the walk way. He, of course, was thrilled with the idea that someone else would make the yard look decent. I started on the far side, to the left of my door as you'd look out. I also filled up two large (25 gallon) containers with water and placed water lilies (acquired from school) in them. They have lilac blooms and have attracted tiny thumb nail sized frogs. I put a few little fish (also acquired from school) in them to eat the mosquitoes. It's also a good out door place for the koi when I change their water.

After I got that side growing, I started on the other. My plan was to make a small quarter circle with golf course grass in between the rocks so that the door could open and shut easily without getting stuck or ruining my plants. I got the rocks (and plenty more) from tilling up the soil. I've never seen so many rocks or trash in one spot. I also put in the walk way through the middle of the "gardens" to keep people from stepping on my plants.

As you can see, I've successfully convinced several plants to grow and many more weeds. I'm going to try to make these picts as small as possible to fit them on the page, so if you want to really see them (cuz they're so pretty) then click on the image.

My favorite plant is basil. It's so green and every time the dogs or I barely brush past it, its scent fills the yard.

The dill might be my next favorite because it's almost blue. The dill looks so delicate and yet so ornate with it's branching, almost like a tiny tree.

I also have parsley growing, but it's the smallest. I wanted to get cilantro to grow as well, but it hasn't decided to yet. I use parsley and cilantro the most in my cooking.

Other than herbs, I planted several vegetables and flowers. The two zucchini plants died, but I didn't mind because they almost took over and had massive flowers. The carrots are in the first green picture on the right along wit some juicy lettuce. The best vegetables so far have been radishes and lettuce. There is one radish that got a little too much Miracle Grow, because it's a Godzilla radish about the size of my fist and tall enough to reach my knee. It's flowering too. The left is a picture of it and a picture of lettuce flowering. Note the red stem on the super radish.

I think I also have tomatoes growing. They are hidden by the soon to be blue Morning Glorys. No one mentioned Morning Glorys were vines!!! They've taken over and fight with each other. I spent hours last weekend untangling them. I bought some wire mesh to make a cage for them. You'd think they were critters!

From campus I harvested a ton of Xmas Palm tree seeds. It's taken weeks, but as of today, 5 are working their way up!!! They're barely 2 inches tall! Very cute! This also tells met that dad's weeds of Xmas Palms had to be undisturbed for months to grow to be a foot tall.

To shade a lot of the other plants, I've used okra. The okra grows quickly and give a lot of cover because of its tall stature and broad leaves. There is my shortest okra with the grill in the background. I'm not quite sure how it got on this side because I only planted okra on the other side, not to mention this would be up hill if water flow. I have the suspicion that a four legged fuzzie moved it.

Speaking of four legged fuzzies, here are the kitties in the garden! Note how massive the Morning Glory's are.

Happy Birthday DAD!

It's Dad's turn to be embarassed on his birthday! He was born in 1949, making him 59! That's like almost 60 which is really old!

Well hope you get the card I sent. Sent one for Linda too! Say hi to the bird for me!

In Search of MEAT

Friend of mine got a craving for steak the other day so we drove to every store in town to buy some beef. Turned out there was a beef shortage.

The last supermarket we went to was kinda shady but they tend to have more ethnic foods, more frozen foods (or at least they're frozen now), as well as other useful goods (storage bins, pots, pans, pitchers, baskets, trash cans, etc). We had to look through the meat section rather thoroughly to find some heavily frozen sirloin steaks. She settled with a pair of very freezer burned vacuum-packed sirloins ($12EC each). I opted for pork ribs ($15EC for a rack).

I grabbed some fresh charcoal and we went to my apartment to grill. She call’s it BBQ-ing, but she’s from New York. They all call anything on the grill BBQ. What I would do for some good ol’ Texas BBQ.

I’m getting quite hooked on ribs and pork chops. Have made a lot of Jewish friends here. They don’t eat pork… with out a lot of peer pressure, that is. It’s like Baptists and booze.

We traded: one of my ribs for a cube of her steak (she's not Jewish by the way). The sirloin was surprisingly tender. As she put it: the meat had nothing to accentuate but itself. it was delicious! *drool*. Funny how I never grilled back home; I find myself grilling here every week. Guess I have more time in a way now.