The Itching Has Stopped

A little under a year ago, Louise and I spent three wonderful weeks in Hawaii. There is so much to do and see that we were always going to this place to see the turtles, or that place to see the waterfalls. It seemed that every where you turned, there was something neat to see or do. We went into the Waimea Valley conservation area one day and kind of got turned around. Somehow the path that we were following to the waterfalls disappeared and after a few minutes of “bushwhacking” we found another path.

This path was not as well travelled, but it ended at this lovely pond with a small waterfall that had some incoherent Hawaiian name that the sign said translated into “The Crystal Pool”. It was really beautiful and of course crystal clear. Being a hot day, I rinsed my hands and face in the pool to cool off and then Louise and I found our way back to the main path and the waterfalls.

A week or two after we came home, I developed a rash on my neck, underarms, crotch and hands. It was pretty itchy and eventually drove me to the doctors. Doctor Kathy made an appointment for me to see a dermatologist, but the appointment was three months away, and by the time it got close, the rash had disappeared and I ended up cancelling my appointment. I probably should have kept the appointment.

Two weeks ago the rash came back, and this time I was itchy all over. I figured it was just the dry winter air so I started to use a moisturizer on the places that were bothering me. The skin was so very dry that it began to crack and was pretty painful. I had dry, cracked skin before when I delivering mail and I used a product called “Bag Balm” which was like medicated Vaseline and worked pretty well. Not so much this time.

This isn’t really about dry, itchy skin, but about what happened due to the dry, itchy skin. I was watching TV about a week ago and the index finger on my right hand was really itchy. I started to scratch and pick at it while I was watching the show. As I was picking, I felt a part of my finger pull off. I looked down and saw that a flap of skin had come loose. My finger had my attention now, even though there was no blood at all. I pulled the flap back and saw a tiny fluorescent green worm come out of a hole in the bone!

Needless to say, I passed out and probably screamed like a little girl. When I came to, I told Louise not to worry and went into the bathroom. I took a better look at my finger and saw that all of the skin on my finger was gone and instead of bone, my finger was a crystalline lattice with those green worms moving in and around the lattice. It didn’t hurt at all, and even without skin, I had full range of movement and touch.

It has been about a week since then, and the worms have worked their way up to my elbow. I guess they are feeding on the flesh, muscle and tendons, because all that is left below the elbow is a crystal lattice where the bone was. I haven’t told anyone, because I would imagine that I would be locked up and studied until I died, which probably won’t be too long now as the worms seem to be multiplying. I guess I will just wear long sleeved shirts, pants and gloves until they get to my head.

At least the itching had stopped by the time I woke up.