Mrs. T (Barb) and I went for a hike today on a state bike
trail to look for the culprit. We found
it and therein lay the tale. I’d better
go back to the beginning. About a month ago, let’s say mid-July, I took off
alone, camera in my pocket and binoculars around my neck for a bike ride. It had been cold, wet and miserable for weeks
but on this particular day the sun was shining, the birds were singing and the
prairie was covered with wildflowers in all directions. In a word… it was
glorious. Take a look, all in the way of explaining my euphoric mood on that
particular day.
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I had biked about 15 miles so far that day and was heading
back to the little town of LeRoy where my truck was parked. There was, perhaps, another four or five to
go when I was so enthralled I think I literally forgot I was on a bike. That’s when the culprit we found today jumped
up and got me. It was a small crease
and crack in the asphalt trail. To a biker who was paying attention it wouldn’t
have bothered at all. To me, who wasn’t paying attention and daydreaming, it found me losing control and pitching
over. I managed enough to fall off the
asphalt trail and into the tall Big Blue Stemgrass, which I hoped would provide a slightly
softer landing. It all happened so
quickly. What took maybe ten minutes was my effort to get up. Two jammed shoulders and some very painful
ribs didn’t help a bit. Finally able to get up with both legs functioning I
made it back to town.
After a visit to the clinic where x-rays showed nothing
broken, time and a little therapy got the sore shoulder, ribs and stiff neck
working again….. Except that wasn’t the worst of it. One doctor a week later determined I had
landed in a bed something which caused lots of itching. As that apparent problem mushroomed into
welts, bumps, a spreading rash, according to another doctor it was all due to
chiggers or some unknown mites requiring antibiotics and some high powered salve. It’s now been a month since this all started.
Today with our walk we have officially declared “light at the end of the tunnel
day.” With that I informed Mrs. T. I
would no longer whine, complain nor surreptitiously scratch anything.
Oh my! All of that happening to you just because of that spill! Glad to know you are seeing the light at the end of the bike tunnel, TB. What an ordeal!
ReplyDeleteYour little escapade sounds downright awful. I can't imagine being covered in itchy welts as well as dealing with a battered and bruised body. Thank goodness it is all behind you now. Mrs. T needs to hire a keeper to follow beside you when you decide to do some gawking at wildflowers without paying attention. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds downright miserable. I have heard that mites can be horrid and the itching will drive you half out of your mind. Some people are more sensitive than others to chiggers too. So glad to hear nothing was broken or out of place...and that you are now recovered:)
ReplyDeleteOh dear, just a few of those little chiggers were more than enough for me ! I can only imagine what you went through and so glad it seems to be coming to an end.
ReplyDelete(As an aside, I've just been Dx'd with Shingles ... on my back... and I am looking forward to the time I can post about the ending of the misery connected. Thanks for giving me hope. )
Just hold on for Winter, TB, and get out the snowshoes! Those little picky plants and chiggers, et al will be frozen up and you can daydream all you want!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Jo and Stella
oh, bless you! glad you weren't hurt worse!
ReplyDeleteOuch! The sign should say, Bike and Chiggers Route. Impressive that you biked that far and back!
ReplyDeleteWell, it certainly was a beautiful place to go biking - but keep your eye on the road, would ya? Glad you didn't break anything! LOL
ReplyDeleteGood grief. Wow, I do admit, I can see that it IS definitely an really pretty area and I know a mind can wander but gosh, careful!! Let's just not let the body wander again! That was one heckuva a jolt you took and thank God you weren't hurt in a more serious way. Even though itching and welts are nothing to laugh at... gee. Take care...
ReplyDeleteYou were lucky this wasn't way worse. What would you have done if you HAD broken something and couldn't make it back? Or knocked yourself out? Glad you weren't seriously injured and you have finally declared "light". Be careful TB, we ain't as young as we used to be.
ReplyDeleteGlad it is all over! Once I decided I wanted to make some blackberry wine and went out picking. Sometime in them middle of the night I woke up and it felt like my nether region was on fire! I woke my wife up and after examining the area, she exclaimed, "David you are eat up with chiggers!"
ReplyDeleteThat was bad enough but sounds like it was nothing compared to what you endured.
You are a trooper, for sure. I'm happy you didn't break any bones and that you are getting better from the bad ol' bugs making a snack of the Troutbirder.
ReplyDeleteThat was a very nasty tumble. We have all kinds of things that get bent out of shape when we fall. I guess the kicker would be the bugs. Had you heard of them before? I hope you have a speedy recovery. You can't keep old social teachers down!
ReplyDeleteThe joy of biking is enjoying the scenery. I'd have probably done the same thing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nasty fall you took. The pain and being bunged up was bad enough but the chiggers was serious insult to injury. I'd almost rather be in pain than itch.
So glad you have reached the end of the tunnel.
"Troutbirder" has been included in the A Sunday Drive for this week. Be assured that I hope this helps to point even more new visitors in your direction.
ReplyDeletehttp://asthecrackerheadcrumbles.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-sunday-drive_18.html
Just when you think it can't get any worse it invariably does. Sorry about all your pain and discomfort and I'm so glad you are finally nearing the end of it. Take care good blogger buddy. Lucky you have dear Mrs. T to help you in distress.
ReplyDeleteDiabolical of those chiggers to lie in wait right next to a bump in the trail. Yikes. (In answer to your comment about Star Lake, it is just west of Cross Lake and just south of the Whitefish chain. We think of it as the quiet alternative to those busier places.
ReplyDeleteThis is a sad but funny story. I just remembered this:
ReplyDeleteIf you pull weeds but sure to wash your hands before you pee or you might end up with poison ivy.
Glad you are FINALLY seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!
ReplyDeleteStay safe and watch for cracks!
Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island
Some things aren't all they're cracked up to be! Oh, wait, you found that out, didn't you?
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of chiggers - I had to post about them a couple years ago after cleaning up piles of deadfall after a hurricane (or was it a nor'easter?) and my arms got covered with 'something'. Benadryl did not touch the itch. It was nerve-wracking! Doc sent me to the drug store, bought some gunk, covered my arms for 20 minutes, washed it off.... done! But they left tiny scars. Like reverse freckles!
I thought it was too cold up there for chiggers. Guess not.
Your post reminds me that I really need to watch my whining. I just had my 4th surgery in the last 20 months. Of that amount of time, only about 5 months, off and on, have been "not difficult." And I guess I do yammer about things too much, at least to my dear husband. He's been a peach, but I'm sure he'll be glad for his own sake if I make a better recovery this time.
ReplyDeleteLove your flower pictures, etc.
Oh no! You really did have quite a time. This is why I am afraid to ride a bike. I'm sure I will lose focus and fall. I'm glad that by now you are doing a lot better.
ReplyDeleteI had to look chiggers up! I've never encountered them ... and happy am I not to have made their acquaintance.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about the disaster, but I'm glad you are now feeling better and have triumphed over the culprit.
ReplyDeleteOh no! As if it wasn't bad enough to be thrown off your bike,but chiggers too! Ugh!
ReplyDelete