A Wedding Tale

Okay, it has been 30 days since the incident and a lot has happened in that time period. As you all know 30 days ago I was bitten by a one to two year old Pitt Bull. Well at the time of the incident, I was told by Animal Control that the Animal in question would be quarantined for 10 days. Silly me believed that since Animal Control placed the quarantine, that they would be the ones that checked the animal to make sure that it did not have Rabies. No one ever stated any different.

Anyway, weeks go by and I see the Animal Control officer often in the mornings at the canteen. He never mentioned anything about the animal having Rabies, so I believed everything was fine. Then I asked him how the hearing went and he simply stated that the owner paid the $185 fine for not having the vaccination tags on the animal. He further stated that she said at the hearing that she did not believe that the animal needed the Rabies vaccine until it became a year old.

So, now I start getting that weird feeling down in my gut and asked if the animal showed any signs of Rabies after the quarantine. He said, "Oh, we don't check the animal. We just place them in quarantine and DHEC (Department of Health and Environmental Control)actually does the check." I then told him that I never heard anything from DHEC and wanted their number to contact them. He obliged.

Once back in the office I call the number that the officer gave me and get a Voice mail for Rabies Control Center for this jurisdiction. I left my contact information and why I was calling as per the instructions. I then called my Claim Representative to see what my options were to get the Rabies Vaccine and found that she would be out of the office until the 10th. I asked to speak with another Representative and was transferred to the first Representative available. We will call her Susan.

I spoke with Susan for several minutes about what we needed to do and she seemed very eager to help me with my problem. Also, a new thing that I was not used to, she wanted the contact information for DHEC. She though they would be a little more forthcoming with the information we needed if we both called. Well after several phone calls and still no answer at the DHEC RCC, I called Susan back and asked her if she had heard anything. She told me that she had no luck with DHEC and called Animal Control to see if there was a different number or any other way to contact them. That was a dead end. At that point it was the end of the day and I went home.

Early the next morning I got a phone call from "Bob" at DHEC RCC. Bob and I spoke for about 20 minutes. The gist of the conversation was that DHEC had no record of the incident and started off by saying that the animal would have to quarantined and we would wait 10 days and check the animal. I told him that it was a little late for that because it has been 28 days since the incident. I told him that I would just go and do their check for them and see if the animal was still there. If he was, there was no threat of Rabies, if he is not there then we have issues. I then asked why there was no record of the bite when Animal control and the ER had to turn in the reports. He said that he did not know the answer to that and would have to get back to me after I did the check.

Once I got off the phone I informed my Supervisor of what was going on and was told to take "Work mom" and Agent A along for the check. I drove to the location of the Incident and soon as I got there, I noticed that the Animal that bit me was not there. This time I stayed with the car and blew the Air Horn until I got a response from the house. In the mean time Agent A pointed out that all the Animals are now on chains and that one of them is foaming at the mouth. I took a look see and noted that it was the little six month old that A) tried to eat my leg, and B) was so ecstatic about company that it tried to jump through the fence.

This little puppy was laying in the grass and would only raise her head enough to wipe the foam from her mouth. Every other dog in the yard was going nuts, barking, running back and forth on their chains, but not this girl. Agent A and Work Mom did their best to get the puppy to at least get up, but could get nothing more than a disoriented glance between wipes.

We immediately called Animal Control and informed them of what was going on and they told us that they would be out there in one to two hours. Mean while the owner came out (in her pajamas again) and promptly asked what I was doing there. That she paid her ticket and the case was done. I advised her that I was out doing the check that DHEC should have done and asked where the animal that bit me was. She promptly pointed at the puppy that was foaming at the mouth, "That's her right there." I called her out on her lie and asked her again where the animal was that bit me, this time describing the animal. She told me that I was mistaken that she had never had such a pit bull and that the only animal that bit me was the one she had already pointed out.

I then asked her what was wrong with the puppy and she said, "Nothings wrong with her. She has allergies. She gets them every year." I said, "Really, and how many years has she seen?" "She's just shy of a year." Then Work Mom pipes in, "Then how the F*&% do you know if it seasonal allergies?! Lady you need to cut the Bull S%&# and tell us what happened to the other dog. Cause if that dog had Rabies then this man needs to get the medicine!" "Lady, if I were him and some strange dog bit me, I would have already gotten the medicine instead of waiting this long."

"Okay," I said, "I don't have time for this. Animal Control is coming out here to take a look at that puppy that obviously has Rabies. I suggest you come up with a better story than Allergies before they get here."

We then left and headed back to the office, where I updated DHEC (well left another message on their machine) and Susan. Susan said that she would get the paperwork started to get the Rabies series done before the close of business. Half an hour later I got a call from Bob at DHEC and relayed what happened. He advised that even though all that was going on, that I had a very low probability of actually having Rabies. But, seeings how we cannot prove one way or the other that the Animal that bit me had Rabies, and the one that she claims bit me now has Rabies, it was best that I go ahead and get the shots.

I then asked Bob what happened to the original report and he said that they ripped that office apart looking for that report, but did not find it. He said that they never received it. That Animal control nor the ER sent the report, and must have thought that that the other sent it. He said that that tends to happen, but if they do not get the report that there is nothing that they can do. Other than remind those agencies, again, that they have to send the reports reguardless of what they believe the other agency is doing.

So, to hurry this story along, while Susan was working through the Red tape of making sure that I did not end up with a $7,000 bill for these shots. I spent my work day trying to find a hospital or doctor office that kept the first series of shots in stock. In the end, only one hospital within my jurisdiction keeps the first series of shots in stock. Apparently, the shots are so expensive and rarely used now that they have to be ordered. Even DHEC RCC does not keep them in stock. Besides, there is usually no Emergency rush to have it now. So, in order to get the shots, I would have to go through the ER, again.

I went to the ER, this time the ER that was not my first choice, and spoke with a security guard who was manning the metal detector (a security measure that I was not expecting). I pulled out my ID and badge and told him I have weapons on me. Yes, plural. Since my supervisor took my service weapon due to me being on light duty, I carry my concealable weapons. He told me to leave all weapons in my vehicle since I was being admitted.

I was surprised at the fact that I barely got through the Triage before they pulled me back. The nice Nurse put me in a 6 by 8 room with no bed. At first she seemed confused as to why no one was in the room and triple checked the fact that no one was supposed to be there. Once she got it straightened out that the room had been reserved for me, she tried to usher me in. But before I stepped in I asked innocently, "But, what happened to other guy that was in here?" She caught my drift and replied, "I don't know. I think he got eaten by the walls or something." That got a nice laugh out of everyone.

Since the Triage Nurse said (over the phone and during Triage) that I would get the shots sometime within the next 8 hours, I pulled out my IPod and kicked back as best I could. I also sent my friend a text telling him that I was going to be late to the wedding rehearsal. While I waited, every 5 to 10 minutes a nurse would come by and make sure I was still in there.

Eventually I spoke with the ER Doctor, who had an attitude about him that I was wasting his time, money, and valuable resources. He explained to me that Rabies travels up the nerves at a rate of 1 inch per day. Since it has been 30 days and there is not 30 inches between the bite and my brain that I could not have Rabies. Even if I did have Rabies and some how by some miracle it had not made it to my brain yet, that taking the series now would not do any good. And that he had never given the Rabies series "just because someone wanted it".

I informed him of the circumstances, and that I did not want to be there any more than he wanted me there, because I hate needles and I had a Wedding rehearsal to be at. But, depending on how much of the virus I might have received and the strength of the virus, it can take up to 2 years to reach the Brain. I got an angry look for that comment. Besides all that, Workman Comp, my Supervisors, the liaison for Workman Comp, and DHEC all told me to get the shots. At that the Doctor started walking out of the room and said, "Well, I'm only an ER Doctor. If DHEC is telling you get it then, you'll get it."

An hour later a Nurse comes in with a handful syringes and says, "Okay, after this, me and you aren't going to be friends." "Wow," I said, "that's a lot on needles." Out in the hall I heard the Doctor say, "That's what he wanted." before the door shut. In the next 5 minutes I received 7 shots, none in the abdomen. The first was the Rabies Immune Globulin. The most expensive of the bunch in the left shoulder. Usually it is administered at the bite site, but since it has been a month the Doctor advised to give it in the shoulder. I guess I should be thankful that he did not want to try and administer it right to my brain. Anyway, the other shots went into my other arm and hips.

Once the Nurse was done, she had me wait to make sure there was no serious reaction to the meds. After the wait, she gave me some Advil and three year old Graham Crackers (I just found it odd that they would have that much of a back stock).

When the paperwork was printed up, the Nurse told me where I would be going for the next series of shots and pointed me to the exit. I promptly got lost in the maze and found myself in a Hispanic waiting area. They all noticed the confused look and pointed me to the nearest exit. It was not the exit that I was looking for, but I knew where I was. When I got back to my car I strapped my guns back on under the watchful glare of an unarmed security guard at the end of the row of cars.

Seconds later I was off to the Wedding rehearsal that I was an hour late to.

To be continued...

Semper Fi Deus

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