Diana French
Special to the Tribune
We live in a “what next” world – it seems every day brings something new to worry about. One local fear is less - tick bites.
Tick season is getting some attention lately because it came so early. It used to be a big concern because bites from an infected tick can cause Rocky Mountain fever which can be fatal. Now there are antibiotics to deal with the fever.
Our family had a close call with a tick years ago when we were living at Alexis Creek.
Husband was working in the garden and our four-year-old son was sitting on a pile of dirt watching him.
Suddenly, son started to cry and said he couldn’t get up, his legs were tangled. He was right. They were paralyzed.
Husband suspected tick right away and we dug through his hair and found one. They’re tricky to remove so we dashed him to the Red Cross Hospital.
Nurse Kathleen Telford got rid of the tick, and the legs soon untangled. She suggested we take son to Williams Lake hospital. He was there for a day, then the doctor wanted him back in ten days for a check up.
During his stay home he came down with a high fever. He was sick for several days, but he was okay by checkup time. When the doctor asked how he’d been, I explained he’d had the flu and a high fever. Doctor said. “No flu, the fever is when they die from the tick bite. I thought he’d be better at home than dying alone in the hospital.”
Back then parents weren’t allowed to visit their children in hospital.
I’d have been frightened if I’d connected the fever with tick death. From then on our boys had crew cuts so we could spot any ticks.
Interior Health says it is good to wear white, wear long sleeves, tuck pants into socks or boots and if possible avoid tall grass and only walk on cleared trails. Checking household pets for ticks is also a good practice.
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