Alien Revisited

[OFSO]

Our cleaner (English) is one of those people who believe anything they are told by Authority: tax, legal, medical. Any contribution anyone else offers is discounted because "they are not qualified". Dodgy, in all three cases, but especially the last as all the decent Spanish doctors moved to Germany and the UK years ago. So her 13 year-old daughter has had a lump on her leg for six weeks. Heals, breaks open, heals etc. Antibiotics, antibiotics, more antibiotics. Mrs OFSO suggested an alternative treatment but "we have the best specialist going so I think we'll stick with him, thank you".

Yesterday at the weekly visit to the doctor to see why nothing was happening, there's a locum there. And a locum who had just come back from Africa. Who knows immediately what the problem is, cuts the lump open and removes lots of wriggling larvae. We think the problem originated with a mosquito bite which the young lady scratched open, allowing something else to lay eggs in the wound.

As the locum is cleaning out the wound he tells the young lady he's removing insect babies. The young lady might be only thirteen but she is a great wit, and replied "but doctor, I'm too young to be an unmarried mother".

Ah well.....