A week from hell

I think the worst is over but it has been definitely the worst week of the year so far. It started off with a sore throat on the 25th and by the 28th it was totally blistered and raw. I was achy, feverish, with little chills running through me, and I was exhausted. Tuesday night, the 29th, I struggled out of bed at 11pm scarcely able to breathe, as my throat had swollen almost shut. I couldn't utter a syllable but I was tempted to try to call 911 anyway. I didn't though. When I got the bright idea of spraying nasal decongestant down my throat, my situation got a lot better and I was able to sleep. I even had a good night's sleep and my health turned for the better.

That was also the first night that I noticed itchy welts on my arm. They spread to my back and legs over the next 3 days. I thought I had somehow picked up fleas, but at 4am yesterday morning I felt something small scampering along my arms, like a bead of sweat that was running half horizontally. It was 4am. I switched on the light and saw the bed crawling with bugs. I freaked.

I haven't been back to bed since. I told the two Hungarian couch surfers that they must leave the following morning. Amazingly, they asked if they could stay one more night, though I would not have a place to sleep if they did. Of course I told them definitely not. I sat up from 4am until 9am waiting for them to wake and start packing. I decided to go for breakfast for the coffee, not the food, as I had no appetite. When I returned they were packing.

The pest control company told me to wash all fabrics throughout the apartment, or at least to put them in a hot dryer for at least 20 minutes, then stored them in air-tight clear plastic bags when I brought them back into the apartment. I was exhausted but I had no choice, and no one I could think of was available to help me in my still-weak condition.

My sister suggested I rent a large storage container and a parking spot down the street and she offered to bring in large cardboard boxes and a dolly to help me load all my possessions into it for a couple days. It seemed way too involved and she couldn't be available until Monday. I wanted the spraying to be done today and besides, the pest control company needed my furniture to be on site so they could treat it. It was difficult to do it all myself but it was better than waiting for help later.

It was a minor miracle that no one on our floor wanted to use either the washer or dryer on that Saturday so I was able to put through about 15 to 20 loads. I emptied four full dressers, did all the bedding, table cloths and emptied my closets, cedar chest and bookcase, and throughout it all I couldn't stop scratching myself. Every speck seemed to be crawling and it drove me crazy.

I slept on the futon in the living room last night, freed of its serve to couch surfers. I slept off and on for about 10 hours but I was hype-aware of every itch. This morning it was harder to get going, in spite of the rest, but I continued in a haphazard way until my friend Fred arrived at 11 to help me move the boxes from the closet and to lift the mattress. The bed bug nests were visible in two corners of the box spring.

With the last things fed through the washer and dryer, Fred and I dust-mopped and washed the floors and took a couple more loads of garbage out. It is amazing how much stuff I cleared out--a silver lining to my cloud. The pest control guy showed up an hour later than promised but Fred was still able to squeeze in a quick breakfast with me before leaving for work.

I talked with the fellow who did the treatment after it was done. Besides forgetting to leave my key or a sample of the insecticide for my sister to clear me on, he told me that the box spring was heavily infested and needed to be replaced. I will replace it and the mattress too, as soon as possible. This whole exercise will coast me just under $1,000.

Shit happens. Everyone I have told is pre-occupied with how I got them. It is impossible to say. I have learned that they can take two or three months to manifest themselves, and I was in 3 hotels in Utah in June. They weren't nesting in the living room where the couch surfers have stayed, so while I suspected them at first I am not so sure anymore. I am more interested in getting my life back to normal, health and condo-wise. I missed 8 films at the international film festival. I have paid $350 for a pass and had only seen 16 when I found the bugs. I may lose seeing a couple more waiting for pick and delivery of mattresses, but it has to be done. That process I'll start tomorrow morning.