...if you DO have Lyme disease, do not imbide any liquids as you read this because of danger of choking. And set down any implement of any kind which could harm the furniture or critters which maybe nearby just in case you drop things in the fit of hilarity which may ensue.
SERIOUSLY - PROTECT YOURSELF BEFORE YOU READ THIS.
YOU MAY ACHE WITH LAUGHTER.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
WARNING TO NON-LYME AMERICANS (or those of other nationalities):
This diary, while factual, has a tone of black humor snarkiness which will likely be understood by anyone who has been sick with Lyme for a long time and told repeatedly that they couldn't possibly have it.
If you do not have Lyme disease, the humor may not be self-evident. See title, tip jar, and tags for amplification.
So, did you hear the one about how Senator Joe 'You Lie' Wilson was hospitalized this week due to a fever believed to be attributable to Lyme disease?
You're likely thinking what I was - that the psychiatric issues with Lyme brain can have a seriously negative impact on things like impulse control and anger, but he was suspecting he was infected this summer, so his outburst likely would not be attributable to the neuropsychiatric effects of Lyme.
Today's news report after the squiggle...
Wilson On The Mend From Mysterious Illness
I realize that this will have zero meaning to anyone who hasn't spent multiple years seeing dozens of physicians before an answer was found, but to those of you who have trod the path I have PUT DOWN THAT CUP OF WHAT EVER YOU'RE DRINKING NOW!
Here's how the article begins:
One thing is for certain: Ailing Congressman Joe Wilson does not have Lyme disease. In fact, doctors haven't been able to to determine what exactly has been plaguing Wilson the past couple of weeks.
How are they so very, very, very sure that it is super-sure NOT Lyme?
Wilson said he as undergone a battery of tests with no clear-cut diagnosis.
"The infectious disease personnel here have gone through every type of fever consequence, and the goods news is they've been negative," Wilson said. "I'm learning things that hopefully will be helpful for other people. That is, it is not unusual to not be able to identify what the problem is and after a period of time it will simply go away.
Hey Joe? Anyone tell you it takes multiple weeks for the body to produce antibodies which would show up in Lyme tests? Oh, they forgot to tell you that - how weird.
Maybe it will 'simply go away,' Joe - they got abx pounded into you pretty quickly, so maybe you'll luck out.
Readers, please - it is not yet safe to drink...
Didn't CDC say that something about a rash being an indicator of something? I seem to recall SOME kind of statement about that:
The original suspected culprit, Lyme disease, proved to be false, he (Wilson) said.
"Initially I thought it was due to a tick bite," he said. "I love working in the yard. But that wasn't it."
What Wilson thought was a bite, his doctor said was simply a rash.
Right. It was 'just' a rash.
But rest assured, this experience hasn't rocked his world or changed his values or anything. Clearly, he's feeling more himself already:
Wilson added, "I'm doing much better," and said he anticipates a speedy recovery. The second-district Republican even got in a joke or two, and ended his brief interview on the political side, saying the country must not raise taxes if it expects to get out of its economic doldrums.
UPDATE I: I am NOT laughing at Joe Wilson being sick. I do not wish Lyme disease or anything else on anyone, even him. I don't like the guy, but I hope he recovers quickly.
If you have not been told (for years!) what Joe Wilson has apparently been told about NOT having Lyme, this story likely won't have any humor for you - hence the title. Being told one does not have Lyme disease is not the same as actually not having Lyme disease.
UPSDATE II:
10:24 PM PT: Wilson had to reschedule his home town visits:
'U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson has canceled a Beaufort appearance today at Blackstone's Cafe, along with other stops on a tour of his congressional district, because he is hospitalized with a viral infection...
Wilson's hospitalization has derailed a tour of his district, including several local events scheduled for this week. He was slated to tour Hunting Island State Park and meet with Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce leaders.
Read more: http://www.islandpacket.com/...
Hat tip NP40
Link: http://www.islandpacket.com/...