It's All About the Odds

Dealing with adversity is part of the adventure. Beginning last Tuesday, the day we visited Nashville, I began developing some rather uncomfortable symptoms - muscle aches, headache, chills, and general fatigue. At first, I thought nothing of it, but as of Saturday my head hurt so much I could no longer sleep. I ended up at a hospital – operated walk-in clinic, and was rapidly diagnosed with a tick-borne illness, most likely Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The doctor asked me about tick bites, and when I answered that I had been recently bitten, she said she was certain of her diagnosis. I immediately received a massive injection of antibiotics, and was given a prescription for a 20 day course of oral antibiotics. I am very lucky I began treatment within four days of the appearance of symptoms. If treatment is delayed, very serious complications will occur. If left untreated, the disease is fatal 30% of the time! Those who survive most often have permanent damage to organ systems, including serious cognitive impairment. In only 24 hours, my symptoms improved greatly, but I still have a headache and have no appetite. The muscle aches and chills have abated. It will take about 2 weeks for the symptoms to completely resolve. (As of this writing, May 2, I continue to improve rapidly – the headache is fading, and I am able to eat again. My strength is also returning.)

What's interesting is that even among people who are bitten, the disease is rare. It's all about the odds, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We have been lucky to avoid the devastating tornadoes that seemed to hit all around us last week. The destruction is truly beyond imagination, both to people and property. Last we heard, over 300 people have died, and the insured loss is over 5 billion dollars.

We are spending an extra day in Hot Springs, AR to allow myself more recovery time. Hot Springs was designated our first national park in 1833, and still remains under federal management. The water comes out of multiple springs at a temperature of 143 degrees, and does not require treatment of any kind. We did get a chance to visit “Bathhouse Row”, where hot mineral water flows into elaborate early 20^th century bathhouses which are still operating today. Back in the day, hydrotherapy was thought to cure illnesses, and one Dr. Kellogg (of cereal fame) promoted all sorts of water based treatments. The treatments offered at these spas were based on Kellogg's theories. One of the bathhouses, the Fordyce, has been converted to a museum/visitor center by the National Park Service. It is a very elaborate marble building, with a gym, elegant social room, and separate bath halls for men and women. The bath halls contain private cubicles, each outfitted with a marble bathtub. We visited a treatment room that looked like something out of a horror movie, replete with fire hose nozzles connected to an evil-looking array of gauges and valves. The person receiving treatment stood in a “needle shower” surrounded by 30 shower heads. Then, from a distance of about 10 feet, the bather would be blasted by fire hose nozzles, which targeted specific organs. There was a marble mortician's table for administering treatments such as colonic irrigation. A sitzbath basin had gray stains from mercury-based ointments once applied to syphilitics. The men's area was advertised as equal to the woman's – in reality the men's was much more elaborate, with a stained glass dome, an elaborate fountain, larger tubs, etc. The spas were segregated by race until 1964, with Blacks having access to their own bath house that just happened to have a lower allotment of hot water, so they had to wait in line for up to three hours for a bath.

The city of Hot Springs is noted for its mafia connections, with gambling, and notorious mobsters such as Al Capone. Also, it is the birthplace of Bill Clinton.

Well, the weather has been wild again, with daily and nightly severe thunder storm warnings, flash flood warnings, and other delights. There was an enormous lightning strike very near us yesterday that knocked out the power and Internet for 18 hours. Luckily, I disconnected our electricity to protect the trailer, so we were on battery power from around 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. The rain has been almost continuous. A break in the weather begins tomorrow, so we have decided to leave tornado country as quickly as possible. We have changed our plans, and will not be traveling through the Ozarks as first planned. We don't want to be near ticks, tornadoes and serious flooding anymore!! Tomorrow, we drive to Fort Smith AR. By Friday, May 6, we will be in New Mexico. The weather is supposed to hold until then. Whew!!!