Running is a dangerous sport!

After a bubbletastic day in the field on Monday and some fine lateral reasoning on our 'Thinking Step' I thought I would treat myself to a lovely sweaty run along the stunning beach we have at the end of our road. I am not a big runner but I do find it clears my mind after a slightly stressful day (I am developing a new found respect for all teachers and lectures on this trip!).

Until this trip I had never ran on a beach before and the first two runs I did were fantastic. The freedom of not wearing trainers and having the warm sea lapping on my feet as I ran was just unmatched by any other running experience I’ve had. So I’m sure me waxing lyrical about the wonders of beach running in the Bahamas is getting a little too much so let me explain why running is such a dangerous sport. Well, its dangerous when wild dogs run after you on the beach and even more so when they decided that you look very much like dinner, probably a pair of chicken drumsticks, and take a nibble on your thigh! Being a little oblivious to things I just continued running back home thinking that my leg hurt.  Once I got back I got ready for my shower and realised that actually the nipped me.  Mike and Didi sprang into action with the first aid kit to hand and helped me clean it up, while George googled rabies.  Nothing is more worrying then when you ask someone the symptoms of rabies the first thing they tell you is partial paralysis and death!

As I was cleaning the wound my panicked students went off to find one of the lovely ladies who runs where we are staying, Ms Shelly Bowleg.  She came in and had a look at it and informed us that people have had issues with this dog before and not to worry but if we wanted to in the morning she would come with us to the clinic.  The final stage of our first aid involved the application of iodene to the wound.  Mike and George greatly enjoyed inflicting this pain on me, revenge for a day of trying to sample perhaps? or just sadistic students? Who can tell?

On Tuesday, Mike and I left Didi and George in the field and headed to the clinic, after seeing the nurse my wound was dressed and I was given some very strong antibiotics (I'm up to date on my tetanus shots and there has not been a case of rabies on the island before) which make me very drowsy and giggly, much to everyone's amusement! Here is an image of my dressing as I didn't want to gross you all out with my very iodened wound!

A dressing which is a little over kill for the size of the nip

So lesson learned from this....running is a very dangerous sport!