Geez, I Hope I Don't Have Flesh-Eating Disease

          People always start imaging they have the disease or condition that they start hearing about.  That happened to me in 1995.  Here is the story: 

          During the last half of 1994 there had been a lot of buzz on the news about a terrifying infection called Necrotizing fasciitis, which was more commonly known as “flesh-eating disease”.

Lucien Bouchard, the well known Quebec separatist Member Parliament, had gotten it and almost died.  He ended up having to have his left leg amputated as a result of the infection.  That horrific scenario began to start playing out in my mind in January of 1995, when I noticed a painful spot on my leg that was becoming increasingly swollen with a red splotch surrounding it.  My leg muscle was also starting to become hard and tight.  

    I was consumed with fear, thinking that I had flesh-eating disease, so I didn’t procrastinate; I went to see Dr. Cowburn our local doctor.   After he examined it, he confirmed that it was an infection but it looked like a bite, probably from a spider.  He wrote me a prescription for antibiotics, and told me I should be seeing results very soon, and to come back on Saturday it hadn’t gotten better. 

    That was on a Thursday, and I immediately began taking the antibiotics, and much to my relief, by Friday I could see that the swelling had begun to go down, but there still remained a big red blotch surrounding the central point where an ugly-looking scab had formed.  Needless to say, I was much relieved as the area on my leg continued to heal due to the antibiotics.

    It was such a relief knowing that I didn’t have the flesh-eating disease that I had been imagining and fearing.  I was also happy that I had quickly decided to go see the doctor before that spider bite had gotten worse.

You can view my paintings at:  davidmarchant2.ca