My family used to visit Yellowstone every year. I have so many good memories of that place! Fishing, camping, swimming, you name it.Since Todd and I are about to enter parenthood, we decided to make a trip to Yellowstone with my dad before this baby comes.
A week before our trip my dad went on a pioneer trek with his ward and was bit by a deerfly on his wrist. A few days later he became so ill that he lost 10 pounds in 4 days, had recurring fevers of 103*, experienced tremendous headaches and body aches, and was constantly sweating buckets and freezing cold at the same time. He was mentally "foggy and slow" and his vision changed.
In spite of all this, he was really excited for our trip and he thought he just had a flu-bug that needed to run it's course. So we drove to Yellowstone.
Our five-star resort (compared to how we usually camp.)
Our second day there my dad gifted Todd and I a guided fly-fishing trip floating down the Madison River. Using a fly rod, I caught the biggest (and the smallest) fish of the day! Todd caught 4 or 5 fish using a fly rod as well. I'm pretty proud of my fly-fishing skills I never knew I had.
Thanks dad!!
Anyway, my dad wasn't making any progress toward getting better. And Todd began feeling really awful and running a fever too.
Todd called our trailer "the infirmary" because he and my dad lay in beds on opposite ends behind curtains, and I'd walk back and forth taking their temperatures and feeding them medication.
We decided to visit the hospital in Ennis the next day.
It turns out that Todd had strep throat, and my dad had caught tularemia from the deerfly that bit him. The hospital thought it was a black widow or hobo spider bite; it wasn't until an emergency room visit a week later back in Sandy that the sickness was properly diagnosed.
Todd was fine with antibiotics after a couple of days. My dad is still terribly sick (it's been 5 weeks!!!) He sleeps all day and forces himself to eat and he tries to think coherently. He's on super strong antibiotics and it'll take him weeks or months more to recover. Tularemia kills one in twenty people who get it if it's not treated.
Even though the men were very sick, we (I?) still had a great time! Here are more photos from the trip:
Todd accidentally snagged a line that was coming out of this fish's mouth from being caught previously by someone else. Lucky catch!
I've got skills:
Tularemia bite. This looks a lot better than it did before antibiotics!
I learned two things about my dad on this trip.
One, he does not complain-- ever. Even when he's literally on death's doorstep. I had no idea how bad he was feeling!
Two, he loves his family (and fishing with them :) more than life itself.
