Monday, May 11, 2009

Brown Recluse Bite

"How are you doing this morning, Don?"


"Very Bad! We must go to Ojinaga to see a doctor about this spider bite. I think it was a brown recluse. My whole arm is swelling up!"


And so I picked up Don, and off to Mexico we went. Don doesn't have health insurance and so a $20 doctor's visit across the border is quite appealing. He has a certain doctor there that he likes. 


Don couldn't quite remember where the doctor's office was, or even what his name was, and so he wondered around the town showing people his arm and asking questions in broken Spanish. We finally found a woman who spoke perfect English who led us to a very modern building and in it we found Don's Doctor. The visit only took about 15 minutes, Don was prescribed some antibiotics, and then we ate lunch and went grocery shopping. I also took advantage and bought some cemento, which is half the price of cement in the USA. 


On the drive home, we listened to Michael Pollan's The Omnivores Dilemma on audiobooks. Since Don is hard of hearing, I panned the sound over to his side of the car and cranked it. Don was excited about Pollan's viewpoint on food production and kept nodding and agreeing with the points made. 

5 comments:

Cynthia Castle said...

Hmmmm.....I have been bitten TWICE in my life by brown recluse spiders!! It is the only painless, poisonous spider bite in North America...you never feel the actual bite....both times the doctor injected about 10 doses of cortisone right into the bite. There was no swelling, only an itchy, nasty looking blistery red area. But then everyone is different. Hope Don is OK!! Cheers to you both!! Cynthia

trevor.reichman said...

hey cynthia. i was just thinking about you the other day when i went to agua fria. don is having a good recovery. good to hear from you!

Sam said...

Trevor,

I am glad Don is doing better. I got to know Don through my visits to Terlingua Ranch and seeing him at the Ranch church. I have been reading your blogs because I miss the people I have met. Do you know Doyle and Ann Dixon, and if so how are they doing?

Sam Baxley

trevor.reichman said...

I don't think that I have met the Dixons yet. I'll keep an eye out and let them you that you asked about them

John said...

Hi Trevor,
Glad Don found his doc that day. I met you recycling and we bs'd a bit, and at Ter. Springs Market when you drove in w/ Don morning he was bit. And my girlfriend and I saw and listened to your performance at Starlight.. real nice. Saw photos of your dome coming along..really cool. I'll be back. Nice meeting ya. Continued Good Luck.

Tinaja John Ernst from NJ