This morning I went downtown to LA Veterinary Public Health to be interviewed by Dr. Emily Beeler for some educational podcasts/slide presentations about the rabid cat I reported back in 1987.
For background: there has been only one case of domestic animal rabies in Los Angeles County in the last, oh, at least 53 years or more. I know all about that case because I saw the cat in question, suspected rabies, reported it, and it was subsequently quarantined and confirmed. Sort of my 15 minutes of fame, if that. I guess now it's going into reruns or syndication!
Anyway, how I pulled off the trip downtown I will never know because I have been sick as a dog for a few days and really should be home in bed 24/7. But I made a commitment, and off I went.
But I am so very happy I was in the office this afternoon, because I was surprised by a phone call from my favorite professor in vet school, Dr. Simon Turner, to whom I had written a letter earlier this year when he was recovering from his SECOND traumatic brain injury received while riding his bicycle. We hadn't spoken to or seen each other in 28 years, but when he called it was such a pleasure, and I don't know who shed more tears or had more speechless moments. He is recovering at home, and his return to research and teaching is still uncertain, but he wanted to let me know he considered my letter particularly noteworthy.
I need to GO HOME. I still feel like c--p, but that phone call sure helped. In theory I will be at work tomorrow.
