Brains! I Want Brains!
Does this story about brain-eating amoebas sound like something out of a Stephen King book or a George Romero movie, or what?
Interestingly, this seems to occur in warm, fresh water. Now I know why I avoid swimming in lakes, unless I’m way off shore, like jumping off a boat. Besides, going swimming should be cool and refreshing, not feel like your bathwater. Makes me wonder how many people peed in there.
Ick.
Funny thing… all over Disney World in Orlando were these signs not to swim in their lakes. Then a friend of mine was doing the ‘Disney Triathlon”. I said, “Where are you swimming?” and she named the Disney lake that I KNEW had one of those signs. It says specifically that you can get sick. Amoebas is one of those things you can get.
She caught pneumonia from that race… we think from the water. She told me people got sick… and they no longer have that Triathlon.
I was simply aghast. Big signs all over to tell the tourists not to swim in it and then they hold a frickin’ triathlon and have ATHLETES swim in it? Gah!
Now I will swim from time to time in rivers or anyplace similar that has running water. I’m going to visit my wife’s family in Arkansas around the Fourth and up in the hills is just such a spot. Water’s nice and cool, too.
last summer, a kid died after swimming in the lake two blocks from my house. The same weekend I took my step-daughter and nephew swimming in that lake. I know about amoebas, but the timing of it scared the crap outta me.
And… we haven’t gone swimming since then.