Thursday, April 10, 2008

Brain Eating Amoebas

Yesterday, after Amy Addison mentioned triathlons, I started thinking about why I'll never, ever compete in a triathlon. Brain eating amoebas. They live in lakes and enter the body through the nose, nibbling away at the brain. Believe me, I can't afford to lose my brain, even a little nibble. 

See, I'm the kid who caught Lice on the first day of kindergarten, acquired mono in sixth grade after sharing water jugs with a teammate, and scratched chicken pox at three. You name it, I've probably caught it. Seriously, I'm a human petri dish. If there is a brain eating amoeba within a mile, I'll catch it. 

I'm curious. Any walking petri dishes out there? What freaks you out? 

Screwball News: This weekend, I'll be at the Mercer County Park in New Jersey selling and signing SCREWBALL at the New Jersey Nightmare Softball Tournament. A former student will be there and I'm so excited to see them! I'll post pics on Monday.. :) Have a great weekend everyone!  

11 comments:

Stephanie J said...

I heard about that brain eating amoeba thing and it freaked me out! I'm from the Land of 10,000 lakes, I'm sure you understand my concern. But hey, then I found out that the amoebas live in very still, shallow waters. You can bet that if I'm in a lake I'll be splashing around at a beach or going tubing.

Trish Ryan said...

I've been looking my whole adult life for a tangible reason not to do a triathalon (as if being a decidedly mediocre swimmer, biker & runner wasn't enough). Now I'm all set!

And yes, you should plan your vacations near the ocean :)

Keri Mikulski said...

Stephanie - Just don't go under water. :)

Trish - I'm glad I could help out! Yes, it's a good thing I live near the ocean. Only crabs and jelly fish to worry about. :)

Susan Sandmore said...

I didn't know there was any such thing as a brain-eating amoeba. Now I will never leave my house again. OMG. What if they know where I live?

Keri Mikulski said...

:) I know, right? Who can afford to lose their brain?

Anonymous said...

Sister mentioned a co-worker's friend who was having some problems. So they did a brain scan and found a worm had eaten some of her brain tissue.

A worm. In her brain. And though they lasered the worm, it had made a nest. Which required brain surgery to remove.

I was pretty creeped out.

We couldn't figure out how a worm would have gotten into her brain. Now I suspect we know.

Bleah.

Keri Mikulski said...

No way!!! OMG.. That's horrible, crazy, and scary.

Angela said...

Keri,
Hope your weekend is great!

Keri Mikulski said...

Thanks. I had a blast at the tournament!

Unknown said...

That's hilarious! I always refer to my son as a human petri dish (but aren't all toddlers?). And I'm so glad to have another excuse to add to my "no-traithlon-here" list. I actually coauthored a book with a triathlete once. Super-inspiring guy, but he still couldn't convince me to give it a go. Great post. XO

Keri Mikulski said...

My daughter is definitely a petri dish too.. I swear, she'll go to the store and three days later she'll have some funky virus. :) I'm glad I could help with the triathlon excuse. :)