Lyme Disease Alert!

Hi all,

I've been away from blogging for last one month. I have been feeling unwell for a month, and after seeing a few doctors: I have Lyme Disease!

I always explore the places I introduce in this blog with heavy protection -- boots, long pants, long sleeve, and bug spray -- because I know there are lots of bugs and poisonous plants in the woods. A interviewer in the past warned me about Deer Ticks, so I knew the danger of it. 

I was off guard when I visited the Minuteman National Park in late May. It was a Sunday type, spur of the moment decision so my gear wasn't as sufficient as it should be.

I saw a brown bug sticking on my leg few days later. I thought it must be a deer tick so I decided to be cautious for next one month. I need to emphasize that no bulls eye rash developed on my skin!

Three weeks later, I began noticing a tenderness around an armpit area. I thought it was a hair removal fail; the tick didn't bite there. A few days later my temperature reached 100 f, which is very high for me. After the temperature broke I recognized a red rash around the armpit area.

First doctor I saw was a MESS. She quickly disregarded my concern because I DIDN'T HAVE A BULL'S EYE!! Over 20% of patients don't develop one! Instead, she diagnosed me with other kind of bacterial infection and prescribed a Cephem antibiotic, which is useless with Lyme Disease. I was completely unhappy with the visit. Ok she did a Lyme Disease test but it turned out to be negative, I believe, because they didn't call back for the result.

Even after taking all the antibiotics prescribed, the rash got worsen. I began noticing a rash on my back, too. I developed a sensitivity on an area of my skin. So I decided to see another doctor, which was about a week ago.

Oh boy, he listened to me! He administered a blood test again, telling me that it is not always accurate. Then he prescribed Tetracycline for 2 weeks. The rash began diminishing next day. It's working!

The doctor called me yesterday that I DO have Lyme Disease. I hope I can clear the bacteria, I'm anxious. The doctor is optimistic about my recovery because it was caught in the early stage.

Everyone! Watch out!!

PubMed Health: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002296/
Lyme Disease Map Project: https://sites.google.com/site/lymediseasemapproject/

It's a shame that I couldn't visit places last month, because I'll be moving to Western Massachusetts soon.

Public Alley 439

Back Bay, Boston

Quonset Hut, Newton

A Quonset Hut is always in an unexpected place. The first one I came across is an abandoned hut in my neighborhood which used to store Emerson Iron Lungs. The Iron Lung might look like the horrifying symbol of Polio, but it helped saving countless children and adults from the acute paralysis of respiration muscle. Without an Iron Lung, no breathing was possible.

Tide Pool Planets

Halibut Point State Park, Rockport

Hillcrest Cemetery (Grafton S. H. Cemetery), Shrewsbury 2-2

From Hillcrest Cemetery, Shrewsbury 1-2

So, why is there an abandoned tower in the state hospital cemetery property? There is an interesting discussion about the original purpose of the tower speculating it was: a Civil War era watching tower, Irish tower commemorating Irish immigrants held in the hospital, water tower for the hospital, etc.

Hillcrest Cemetery (Grafton S. H. Cemetery), Shrewsbury 1-2

From Grafton State Hospital, Grafton

After visiting the former Grafton State Hospital, I dropped by Hillcrest Cemetery where approximately 1,041 male and female patients held at Grafton State Hospital are buried. Their identities are only distinguished by the numbers on austere concrete blocks.

There is always a mystery in Massachusetts woods. A state hospital on the hillside and its hidden graveyard are some of those mysteries. Even the residents would not imagine there is a graveyard in their backyard, but the local teenagers find it anyway; they seem to be strangely fascinated by those numbered gravestones.

Hillcrest Cemetery has one of those Massachusetts mysteries, but there is a further puzzlement that nobody knows for sure.