This. consumed. me.
A slow dawning horror moved through me as my impression of what was happening grew from mosquito bite, to itchy rash, to fungal growth, to “something is under my skin and forging a new path for itself with great gusto.” The whole thing was just gross, not to mention kinda painful.
I got hookworm. From walking barefoot in a warm moist climate - which, let me tell you, is de rigueur for the tropical beach life that I am currently living.
This is what happened. So some soil along the way was contaminated by human poop and my bare lil foot made contact. Don’t know where, don’t know how, but turns out it affects over 400 million of our fellow humans. The hatched larvae dissolved then penetrated my skin making its merry way towards my heart. On the move, it can travel 1/2-3/4 inches (1.5-2 cm) per day. Waking up after a long nights sleep and seeing the distance it had managed to travel was very disturbing. It felt itchy, burny, and ever so wrong.
Without treatment it would have reached my lung lobes, eventually causing me to develop a cough. The larvae would then catch a happy ride on one of these coughs only to be swallowed into my gut. Upon which it would hook onto my intestine with its little hooky teeth. All of this haunted me for a good week or so.
I thank the absolute abomination of this parasite for getting me to the clinic early. Thank goodness for brilliant local doctors and good meds. I am happy to share that the worm tunnel has collapsed in on itself and is healing. I am also feeling a lot more settled emotionally.
That’s all for this weeks literary post. Just had to process it. Thank you for being here.
Foot photos are available upon request. For scientific purposes only please.
Some of you may have had a visceral reaction. Are you okay? Let me know.
Oh my… glad you’re ok now.
A well told happy ending story!
Whew so glad you went to the clinic early and were so aware of your body. You nailed the emotions sensations and imagery! Sandworm indeed!
A well told horror story with a good ending!