The bites began the day after I returned from Tegus last Thursday from Mid-Term Meds. The little critters like to eat at night. Halfway through a PCVs term of service we are required to see the PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer) for a medical evaluation. We submit stool samples, they draw blood, we have a dental exam and eye exam and the docs address any questions we have with a brief physical exam. Ironically, the critters weren’t even considered. They must have climbed aboard my body from the filthy seat I occupied on the bus, either to there, or back home. Sunday night the bites were so bad I couldn’t sleep, yet I could not see anything on my body; just the felt bite and intense itching afterward. But Sunday night, I couldn’t sleep after all, I captured two of the tiny little buggers between my fingertips and squashed them onto a piece of paper. As big as a period and tan colored. The doc in La Paz didn’t know what they were, but prescribed meds. The dermatologist I consulted in Comayagua two days later diagnosed Scabiasis y Pediculiasis and showed me blown-up pictures of numerous of the vile creatures, all related. There, I said, recognizing my tormentors from the many photogenic beasties and the welts they raised as they fed on my carcass. I will be medicating myself as I vacation to the Copan Ruinas, Guatemala, Cancun and Merida, capital of the Yucatan in Mexico where I will meet up with my daughter Andrea and her family. The photos above show the purified water project complete and the final touching up of the operational system. I return to La Paz July 3rd. Life is good, bugs or no bugs.
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
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