Bitter pill to swallow

[Kevin McCormack]

Harold, have you ever been tested for (or been confirmed for exposure to) Lyme disease? The latent and delayed effects of it can be devastating, particularly in late-onset cardiac anomalies.

I dodged a major bullet years ago by being tested (immunoassay) the day after I pulled a tick off me and saw the telltale 'bullsye rash' forming. I never contracted the disease thanks to a quick-acting doctor who put me on the doxocycline 31-day cycle, but the blood panel done for my annual complete physical always shows me as 'sensitized' to the organism but not carrying it.

I can sympathize with your having to cancel your trip; in 2011 I developed "floaters and flashers" in my vision just befor my annual eye exam and a scheduled trip to Canada to duck hunt. My eye doctor said he would not shoot a gun "on a bet" until the condition had passed, an estimated 6-8 weeks, due to the possibility of a detached retina from recoil.

I was so pumped for the trip I went anyway and did not shoot, satisfied myself with calling and watching the ducks decoy and my shooting companions display their waterfowling skills. It was worth it!