My rabies/ ginger beer night

[cadwaladr]

So....

Tonight started as a good night... A few pints down range and a new recipe in the kettle.

All was great until I was standing by the kettle and I hear a god awful screech. At the same time my foot felt like it was in fire.

I looked down, and to my amazement there was a bat stuck to my toe. I kicked and flailed and eventually killed it with my sandals.

I am now siting in the emergency room, awaiting a rabies vaccine.

I figure two things...

1. I should have had a few more pints before I left

2. I will either become batman, or old yellar.

 

[SharonaZamboni]

Dang. Hope you are OK.
A few weeks ago, a woman found a bat at a lake in my area. She held it and let some kids pet it and one got bitten. A mom brought it for testing, and it was rabid.

 

[Homercidal]

Generally, if bat bites you, it's not a normal bat. They just tend to stay away from people and most other critters too. It's when the rabies gets into their brains they go crazy. Usually they have lost the power of flight by then too.

The VAST majority of bats are fine and are actually a great thing to have around. They eat an insane amount of bugs each day (night).

But if you see one flopping around on the ground, kill it, don't take a chance.

This reminds me I ought to hang that bat house I built last year. We've been dry and the mosquitoes are really not bad this year, but I would like a nice bunch of bats aroudn my house to help keep the numbers way down all the time.

 

[Zuljin]

Was it all sparkly and frou-frou looking?

 

[dkwolf]

Huh. My ex-gf (thank dog for that) found a bat in her bathroom...behind the shower curtain...while she was showering to get ready for her wedding. They really didn't know if she had been bit or not, so they killed the bat, put it in a shoebox, and took it in to be tested - if the bat came back negative for rabies, she wouldn't need the vaccine. If it came back positive, she'd start the shots.

Don't know if they do things like that where you are or not. (test the bat before giving the shot) It probably helped speed the test along that her husband was 6 months from graduating Iowa State University with his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine, and they lived 3/4 mile from the vet clinic on campus. And the whole "wedding day" thing might have put a sense of urgency on it too.

 

[Homercidal]

Take some comfort in the fact that the shots are not as bad as they used to be.

 

[cadwaladr]

The bat is being sent in to the lab for testing and I should know by Friday if I have to start the shots.

I think I will have to name the brew rabid ale

 

[Proboscidea]

The shots are definitely less painful than in the past, but depending on the location of the bite, they can be awkwardly painful. Some bastard feral cat bit me a few years ago, so they had to use the giant needle to pump the anti-rabies fluid into the bony part of the back of my hand. The fluid swelled it up like a half-peach. I almost passed out.

And then felt twice as foolish because the guy in the bed next to me was getting his semi-severed thumb re-attached, and he was just chatting up the doctor like nothing was happening. Maybe it was shock. Yay, blissful numbing effects of shock (sometimes).

 

[cadwaladr]

it bit the end of my toe, but you can't even really see where it actually bit... The only reason i know where it was is because i cleaned it with rubbing alcohol afterwards, and that part stung. I was under the impression that the just put all of the needels into your but for rabies.

 

[passedpawn]

Good Gawd man. PICTURES! Folks, you must always have your cameras ready for those kodak moments. I know how to brew beer; I'm here for the entertainment!

(ok, just read the rule book: you get a bye; rabid bat rule #37)

Get well soon. I sincerely hope the tests come back negative.

BTW, how did your brew session end? I mean, do you just scoot the dead/beaten furry bloodsucker to the side and continue your boil, chill, rack to fermenter, gather said bloodsucker and head to the hospital?

 

[dkwolf]

it bit the end of my toe, but you can't even really see where it actually bit... The only reason i know where it was is because i cleaned it with rubbing alcohol afterwards, and that part stung. I was under the impression that the just put all of the needels into your but for rabies.

Used to be in the stomach, now it's at/near the site of the bite.

Which is going to suck getting shots in your friggin TOE.

 

[cadwaladr]

Good Gawd man. PICTURES! Folks, you must always have your cameras ready for those kodak moments. I know how to brew beer; I'm here for the entertainment!

(ok, just read the rule book: you get a bye; rabid bat rule #37)

Get well soon. I sincerely hope the tests come back negative.

BTW, how did your brew session end? I mean, do you just scoot the dead/beaten furry bloodsucker to the side and continue your boil, chill, rack to fermenter, gather said bloodsucker and head to the hospital?

Actually i did finish the brew. It was at the start of my boil. I just made sure it was good and dead, put it in a ziplock bag and carried on.

 

[passedpawn]

Actually i did finish the brew. It was at the start of my boil. I just made sure it was good and dead, put it in a ziplock bag and carried on.

Nice!

 

[slamback]

Actually i did finish the brew.

Well played!

 

[Homercidal]

Darn good thing you didn't go all Ozzy on his ass.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

I'd say it was either rabid or somehow someway you stepped on it by mistake and it got all defensive. As Homer said, bats, even "vampire" bats are highly unlikely to attack humans without some external pressure. If you wind up having to take the shots, take comfort in the fact that its not the WORST site to get a needle. Best case scenario would have been a bite to the @ss.

 

[IXVolt]

Brewing like a Boss,



Crazy as it sounds I wish I had more bats around my place, I have mosquito's something fierce. I'll have to build a bat home like Homer, and wear some steeltoe'd shoes.

 

[cadwaladr]

so the verdict..... bat had rabies

The test came back today positive for rabies. I went in and got 4 more needles, in addition to the tetnus i got on sunday. 1 needle in each hip, one in my upper leg, and one in the shoulder. The ones in the leg and hip were very long, and thick needles.

3 more needles to go over the next 3 weeks

 

[passedpawn]

so the verdict..... bat had rabies

The test came back today positive for rabies. I went in and got 4 more needles, in addition to the tetnus i got on sunday. 1 needle in each hip, one in my upper leg, and one in the shoulder. The ones in the leg and hip were very long, and thick needles.

3 more needles to go over the next 3 weeks

Well suck. Sorry to hear that.

How's the brew coming?

 

[cadwaladr]

brew appears to be coming along fairly well...

 

[IXVolt]

Damn, sorry to hear that.

 

[cadwaladr]

needle 6 of 8 today... side effects are not bad at all. I had to book off sick for 3 hours on the second day as i was absolutely beat, but other than that they are very minor

 

[SharonaZamboni]

How long will the shots protect you from rabies?

 

[cadwaladr]

Atleast 10 years. In 10 they do a test to see if I need a booster. I can now play with all of the rabid bats that I want...

 

[ThreeSheetsBrewing]

So....

Tonight started as a good night... A few pints down range and a new recipe in the kettle.

All was great until I was standing by the kettle and I hear a god awful screech. At the same time my foot felt like it was in fire.

I looked down, and to my amazement there was a bat stuck to my toe. I kicked and flailed and eventually killed it with my sandals.

I am now siting in the emergency room, awaiting a rabies vaccine.

I figure two things...

1. I should have had a few more pints before I left

2. I will either become batman, or old yellar.

3. Wear closed toe shoes while brewing? Avoids hot wort on the feet.

Sorry to hear you had to get the shots.

 

[Goofynewfie]

Now you need a brew name for the occasion.
Rabid bat ale
Bitten toe bitter
bat in a bag ipa

 

[jmtwo]

You're man card has been validated! Bitten by a rabid bat and you finished the brew.

Good show, old chap.

 

[passedpawn]

You're man card has been validated! Bitten by a rabid bat and you finished the brew.

Good show, old chap.

I agree. Completely. 3 cheers to you for showing courage above and beyond the norm.

Why, anybody can brew a beer. That's a very mediocre commodity.
Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the earth,
or slinks through slimy seas can brew a beer! Back where I come from we
have craft beer bars - seats at great bars of mahogany - where men
go to become great drinkers. And when they come out, they think deep
thoughts of brewing, and with no more skill than you have.
But - they have one thing you haven't got - an award of ballsiness!
Therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Universita Committeeatum E Pluribus Unum Beerum,
I hereby confer upon you the honorary degree of Br.D.

That's Dr. of Brewology

 

[Zuljin]

Atleast 10 years. In 10 they do a test to see if I need a booster. I can now play with all of the rabid bats that I want...

And how many bats do you plan on that being? This going to be a new hobby?

I can see it now. Wading through legions of swarming rabid bats, laughing.

 

[wolfstar]

Ugh...At least when we get bit by cats and dogs we can put them in bite quarantine....

Way to finish the brew, "chugging along"

 

[cadwaladr]

thanks for all of the support!!! another shot today....

 

[Dan]

Hang in there Brew Doctor!