It’s currently 95 degrees in Houston but sunny and not terribly humid. I’m still shaking a little Jet lag and feel pretty disconnected from the City as I really wasn’t ready to come home nor did I really have to. However, I think I did the right thing.
A few days before I left Greece I developed a rash under the top part of my arm. I also felt mildly achy with a bit of a stiff neck but my energy level was fine. I really didn’t think much of it until the rash got a little worse and I thought it might be getting infected. When I arrived home the rash was starting to get better but it was obviously caused by some kind of bite and I felt I should get it looked at just be safe.
The Dr. took a look at it and said it was definitely and insect bite. I then told him where I’d been and what I had been doing. He suspected there was a chance I may have contracted Lyme’s disease and was adamant I start treatment immediately. He said it wasn’t worth taking a chance. Although he couldn’t confirm for sure that I had been exposed to Lyme’s I did run into a mess of ticks while hiking through North Devon on the Southwest Coast Path in England. I found a total of ten ticks crawling me while hiking. They were the type that could potentially carry the disease but I didn’t find a single one dug in. However, the ticks are so small they can be easy to overlook. It’s not uncommon for someone diagnosed with Lyme’s to ever remember being bitten by a tick. I developed the rash at precisely the time you would expect for incubation. The rash was similar to other reported cases but not the classic bulls eyes type. A stiff or achy neck is a classic common symptom in the very early stages of Lyme’s. There was enough suspicion to warrant caution so I heeded the Dr’s advice and started treatment immediately. Often this is how Lyme’s is diagnosed, deductive reasoning, because the test used to confirm diagnoses is not always accurate.
Fortunately early treatment is cheap and well tolerated with an 87% success rate. If you don’t do something early Lyme’s can cause all sorts of problems years down the line. I can’t say I’m thrilled about being on antibiotics for 30 days but at least it’s a mild antibiotic that doesn’t seem to be causing any side effects. The drug has a low incidence of negatives with the most common being nausea when taken on an empty stomach.
In one regard I feel out of place being in Houston right now but on the other hand, considering the circumstance, I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be. My cuurent plan is to settle back into a work routine until I finish the meds then consider a little road trip out West. I am also thinking of traveling overseas in the Fall.
All in all my recent travels in England and Greece went really well. The trip home via ferry to Athens, flight to London, two night layover in London, and flight back to Houston went like clockwork despite a Tube strike the day I left. Greece really impressed me and I plan to spend at least a month in the Greek Islands next year. I’ll most likely go during the month of June.
My last stop in London was kind of interesting. Every time I stop in London I stay somewhere different. This time I stayed in South London at the National Sports Center in Crystal Palace Park. I took a room in worn out funky 70’s contemporary designed multi-level building constructed for housing athletes. The complex and park are kind of peculiar and at one time a big attraction. Now, it’s just kind of oddly interesting.
I checked into my room at the complex early in the evening and walked uphill to a nearby pub with a good atmosphere. I noticed it was quiz night so I roamed around asking teams if they needed an extra teammate. I wound up crashing a family birthday and sat between dad and his very attractive daughter who I suppose was in her late 20’s or early 30’s. It was mom’s birthday.
As is often the case when traveling I can be very outgoing and quite social. It really comes out when I travel, much more so than when at home. Another pint and I fit right in. Quiz night at a pub is not only about coming up with the answers to riddles it’s also about drinks, laughter, and stories. British Pubs have got to be some of the best places in the world for swapping stories. Pubs are about pints and conversation. More often than not there is no music. If there’s music it’s rarely loud so conversation is always easy. Anyway, I had a great time. Good fun.
For my last day in London I just walked around Crystal Palace Park. On the morning of my departure I negotiated the Tube strike by taking the Southern line to Victoria Station then walked across Hyde Park to Paddington Station to catch the Heathrow express. The strike wound up costing me an extra $35 USD to get to the airport without worry. I made good time and was able to use my complimentary United Club Pass for a 3 hour wait in a posh lounge with loads of complimentary food and drink. The icing on the cake, for the flight home, was a row of 3 seats all to myself on a Boeing 787 for a 10 hour trip. Very comfortable! It allowed me to lay down. I was very lucky because the flight was almost full.
Again, it was a very good trip. For now I’ll just hang tight and make some money. We’ll see where the future leads me next……
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