It’s Been One of Those (Couple of) Days…
It all started Wednesday morning. Actually, it started approximately three weeks before that, but it was unknown, so we were ignorantly bliss. Anyway, Dudley had been licking and scratching himself 10 times more than normal, which is really saying a lot, because he is the Canine World Lick Champion.
We got a morning appointment at our vet, and after a quick breakfast, the boys and I headed out. Headed out so quickly, I might add, that I left my cell phone at home. I almost ran back into the house for it, but we were close to running late, so I figured, who could I possibly need to call in the next hour and a half? The normally 30 minute trip took nearly an hour, as an accident on the only road in had things blocked up. Though we were unable to call and explain our tardy arrival, the vet was happy to see us, as apparently Casey called there looking for us, after being unable to reach me at the house or on the cell. We borrowed the office phone to ring him back and assure him of our safety, then went into our appointment.
After a thorough examination, the vet declared that Dudley has “sarcoptic mange” – or a nasty form of scabies that it highly contagious and usually contracted from contact with foxes. Anyone remember this post? She then looked up at me, absentmindedly scratching my neck. “Can I see your rash?” she asked tentatively. “Oooh… you have it. You need to call your OB asap and get seen. You need to be treated for this today. Your kids, too…” She went on to explain the various courses of drugs she would prescribe to Dudley, then detailed the work we needed to do at home to rid our house of the vermin. Basically, it was wash everything that’s not bolted down in hot water, including all bedding, clothing and rugs that may have come in contact with Dudley, bleach the floors, and vacuum every day for the next 10 to 14 days. As she was rattling it all off, she was subtly ushering us out the door, where she suggested that we leave Dudley in the car while they waited for the test results. As we came back in, we saw the staff bleaching their own floors and changing their clothes. “That bad?” I asked. “Yeah. I’m sorry,” she said sweetly.
After over an hour at the vet it was time to return home. I looked at the clock and realized that we’d never make it home a nd then to Kenny’s school on time, and I needed to change all their clothes and call the OB and the pediatrician. And my phone was at home.
Thanks to traffic, it was another hour before we walked back in the door (the hour did include a stop at the drive-thru). I quarantined Dudley in the office, and told Kenny that he was going to have to miss school. I put in a much-coveted video for Kenny and Cooper and I got busy on the phone. Once the appointments were set up, I put Cooper down for a nap, then got Kenny into a movie while I vacuumed the entire house and got started on the first of what would be over 18 loads of laundry (and counting, as we are still washing at the end of each day). Then I mopped the floors with the strongest formula they would take. Then we woke up Cooper to head out to the pediatrician.
She was, of course, running late, and we waited over an hour to be seen. She walked in, looked at my neck and chest, and said, “Yep. The whole family has scabies. Call your OB and see what you can take and I’ll write prescriptions for the whole family.”
Hm. One-stop shopping.
After another hour at the pharmacy, waiting for an approval call-back from my OB, we headed home, now nearly 6 o’clock. I made a quick dinner while the boys played quietly (I think they were exhausted, too). After Casey came home, I gave him him the low-down and we all headed up to the bathroom where we stripped down and applied the “scabicide” (read: nasty pesticide lotion) from the soles of our feet to our scalps and everything in between. We covered up with cotton pj’s and socks (on both hands and feet) and called it a day.
Whew.
Stay tuned for Part II…