The Things That Science Fiction Is Made Of
On an especially tense Tuesday morning about a month ago, I answered the phone at work a little less chipper than usual to be surprised by a hysterical plea that went a little like this…
Woman: “Please promise me that you won’t think I’m crazy!”
Me: Ok, note to self, crazy woman. “And what seems to be the problem today?”
Woman (sobbing in near hysterics): “Ok, so about 2 months ago I started developing sores on my face. I went to a dermatologist and I wasn’t impressed because nothing changed. About 2 weeks ago I noticed the sores developing all over my body and I’ve been planning on coming in to see you, but then this morning I took a shower and….”
At this point the contained cry breaks loose and she snorts into the phone before saying,
“…and…when I got out of the shower, my daughter screamed.”
Here my eyebrows lifted with curiosity and I held the phone a little more tightly, unable to fathom what would illicit such a scream.
She continued, “I turned around to look in the mirror and my entire body was moving!”
My mouth dropped open and I barely contained the “Ew!” that was on the tip of my tongue. The woman continued to describe how her skin was pulsating as if there was something crawling underneath the skin. It was about then that she noticed one of the sores on her thigh turning black.
She then said, “When I went to touch the spot the skin suddenly burst open…and…out…crawled…BUGS!”
I wanted to dry heave then and there as she continued to cry and beg that we fit her into our schedule. I got her info and jumped in front of Dr. T on his way from one room to the next. As I related the phone conversation his eyebrows rose in surprise and he was shocked she hadn’t gone to the hospital. I called her back and instructed her to go to the emergency room as there would be nothing Dr. T could do for her here.
I wish I would have kept her number to check up on her later, because seriously isn’t that just the sickest thing you have EVER heard? I just couldn’t help feeling like bugs were crawling over me all day after that awful phone call. EW!
Woman: “Please promise me that you won’t think I’m crazy!”
Me: Ok, note to self, crazy woman. “And what seems to be the problem today?”
Woman (sobbing in near hysterics): “Ok, so about 2 months ago I started developing sores on my face. I went to a dermatologist and I wasn’t impressed because nothing changed. About 2 weeks ago I noticed the sores developing all over my body and I’ve been planning on coming in to see you, but then this morning I took a shower and….”
At this point the contained cry breaks loose and she snorts into the phone before saying,
“…and…when I got out of the shower, my daughter screamed.”
Here my eyebrows lifted with curiosity and I held the phone a little more tightly, unable to fathom what would illicit such a scream.
She continued, “I turned around to look in the mirror and my entire body was moving!”
My mouth dropped open and I barely contained the “Ew!” that was on the tip of my tongue. The woman continued to describe how her skin was pulsating as if there was something crawling underneath the skin. It was about then that she noticed one of the sores on her thigh turning black.
She then said, “When I went to touch the spot the skin suddenly burst open…and…out…crawled…BUGS!”
I wanted to dry heave then and there as she continued to cry and beg that we fit her into our schedule. I got her info and jumped in front of Dr. T on his way from one room to the next. As I related the phone conversation his eyebrows rose in surprise and he was shocked she hadn’t gone to the hospital. I called her back and instructed her to go to the emergency room as there would be nothing Dr. T could do for her here.
I wish I would have kept her number to check up on her later, because seriously isn’t that just the sickest thing you have EVER heard? I just couldn’t help feeling like bugs were crawling over me all day after that awful phone call. EW!
Comments