Monday, August 9, 2010

Going batty

This post has nothing to do with Hep c, being sick or anything unpleasant. This is simply for fun!

Last night I was in bed reading, waiting for my husband to come to bed around 11:30. My daughter had just gotten home from work and was taking a shower, when suddenly I heard a lot of commotion downstairs. No screaming, just running around, slamming doors and all to the beat of sheer panic. I came downstairs to find my husband in the bathroom holding a tote bin upside down on the floor. My daughter looked utterly shocked and told me that she'd gone in to take a shower, and suddenly a bat flew over her head - inside the house! My husband had it trapped under the bin and they were furiously thinking of what to do. We ultimately were able to get the bat outside and let it free....it was a cute little brown bat, but we have no idea how it got inside.

We've had our run-ins with critters in our house. When we were first married, we lived in a 2-bedroom starter home with a finished basement we rarely used. I went down one day to find a long line of slimy "droppings" in the family room, then heard a ruckus near the fireplace. I went over to look - had to get out a flashlight - and found a mother raccoon complete with nest and a bunch of baby raccoons living in our fireplace! On this occasion, we called pet control and they removed the raccoon family and set them free in a wooded area.

Every fall, I open the damper to our fireplace and make sure there are no obstructions. One year I was having a very hard time getting the damper open and had to pull really hard, until it gave way and came off it's hinges, sending me on my butt. Usually a few assorted leaves and dirt come pouring out, but not this year. Out comes the leg of a duck, clearly the duck is dead because the leg - while intact with feathers - is in a dried out state. I looked more closely and the entire duck had fallen into our chimney, I donned a pair of gloves and pulled the duck out - all in one piece - to find a full-grown mallard had died in the chimney.

A couple of years later, it was time once again to open the damper and clean the fireplace out for fall. As I was pulling the handle, I heard a bunch of noise, but before I could stop....out dropped a full family of mice - mom, dad and tiny little babies, some barely with their eyes open. Just so you know, I never screamed or ran around like an idiot as most TV shows would indicate. I grew up in the country, and well - this is all pretty normal stuff for a girl who grew up catching large snakes and seeing all types of wild critters.

But I must admit - a bat inside the house was a first. It really was a cute little thing....I hope it's doing okay!

2 comments:

  1. Hi Nurse Sue. Sorry to read you are a relapser. Many of us out here that are nonresponders, relapsers or in my case had to stop at 17 weeks despite the fact I had cleared at week 7 because Procrit wasn't available in 1999. I had to have 4 units of blood (hemoglobin was 6), a month in ICU with a recurrence of Legionnaire's disease (who gets that twice!??) and I was intubated for 2 weeks. I do advocate for treatment though as I have MANY friends who have treated and cleared and know many that have had to do treatment more than once. Are you considering trying again when the protease inhibitors come out next year? Good luck with whatever you decide and welcome to blogland. I don't post as much as I should but I try and always hook up with other "heppers" so someone can go from blog to blog and get a lot of good information and experiences. Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pam, thanks for posting. Treatment IS hell. I had to go on Neupogen due to super low white blood counts, but the bone pain was awful. I am having a consult with a physician at a major medical center in Sept. I will find out if I'm a candidate for the protease inhibitor. But..I am still in stage IV so not so sure. And I have very mixed feelings regarding transplant. What are your options? How are you feeling? Keep in touch.

    ReplyDelete