Things That Crawl in the Night

My Quadriplegic nightmare

 

Ever since a little girl I have been wary of bugs. I love snakes but creepy crawlies, never.

Maybe it was too many Twilight Zone episodes. Tiny 6- legged creatures nesting in my nose or ears has been a key scenario in my terrified, head under the covers nighttime ritual.  If camping, I am the one burrowed down low with the zipper all the way up and the drawstring tight. 

I know that there are many of you that share my squeamishness, whether you admit it or not. Once I lost my mobility, my fear turned into terror. If there was a spider in my room, it was soon to be dead. Sorry, I am not a believer of sparing the lives of creepy crawlies.

Summer of 2010 there was a spider nest in my bedroom. We didn’t know until one night several babies were making their first solo flight down from the ceiling, right over my head. Luckily Steve was here and could see the frantic look on my face, followed my eyes upward and saw the mini-brigade of dive bombers.  He called my son in, because killing things is a guy thing. They assembled their weapons from a golf club and my walking stick and attacked the ceiling. I still have the marks above me to remember that fateful night.

Well, it gets worse. A few weeks ago I had a run in with an earwig. I never thought they could hurt people but I learned otherwise. Half asleep I feel creepy little legs on my cheek.My caregiver is asleep and I don’t want to open my mouth, or move for fear it will walk into my mouth. I feel the body intruder walking across my face.Skinny little legs just cruising along my cheek. If I knew how to close my nose and ears, I would have. Visions of Twilight Zone filled my head. Then the movement stops and I figure it’s going to go away. No,I feel and hear it CHEWING on me. CHEWING!! It seemed forever but was just seconds I imagine. Talk about feeling helpless. So, I just waited until it sated its thirst. Once it was full it walked it’s creepy little legs down my face. I didn’t feel it anywhere else so it must have gone somewhere to digest it’s big meal.  Chewing!!

The next day I awoke with nasty bite marks on my cheek. When Wanda changed my sheets we found the bloated earwig snoozing between the sheets. Boy that sucker did not want to die.  She pinched and pinched, he squirted out a lot of my blood but still didn’t die. The only burial for it was the porcelean flusher, it was going to a watery grave.

Sorry to those of you that believe in preserving ALL life. As a completely dependent, immobile, defenseless human, I will show no mercy to creepy crawlies.

 Zoom in on the sucker

Scars of Proof

Below are the pictures of