Chapter 21
Day 20
I am the first one up and out of bed this morning. I check the time and see that it is only 5:30 a.m., but that’s okay. I wanted to get an early start today anyway. I go to the bathroom, wash my face, brush my teeth and hair, and get dressed. I wake up Derrick, and he does the same--except he is walking a little bow-legged. I think riding that horse has made him a little stiff this morning.
“I remember now why I stopped riding horses. My groin is a little stiff today, can you tell?”
I start giggling a little and say, “No, I didn’t notice, Cowboy.”
He smiles and we leave the room and walk to the café for breakfast. All I
want right now is a big cup of coffee with lots of sugar. Then I want bacon, six slices of bacon, and some scrambled eggs. Dane, Taylor, and Matthew show up about 20 minutes after we sit down. We all enjoy the big breakfast and order a couple of thermoses of coffee to go. We’ll stop at a store on our way to the station to get water and snacks for the day. Taylor grabs a couple of cases of water for the people in quarantine.
Taylor has called his CDC office and requested a team to come to the sheep station and oversee the quarantine procedures. Also, animal services has been contacted, and they will be taking measures to make sure the sheep are being watered and fed. Taylor has thought of everything. On the way to Mrs. Jones’ place, I decide to give Geoff a call and find out what happened overnight. Here is the list of medications I sent him last night:
Advair 500/50 2 times daily
Mucinex
Neurontin 300 mg/3 times daily
Meloxicam 7.5 mg
Tramadol 50 mg/3 times daily
Tylenol 750 mg/3 times daily
Losartan Potassium 50 mg
Pravastatin 40 mg
Verapamil Er 240 mg
Aspirin 81 mg
Singular 10 mg
Ambien 5 mg
Xalatan
Trimethoprim 100mg
Acidophylus
Flaxseed Oil 1000 mg
Vitamin D 1000 mg
Calcium 1500 mg
Multi Vitamins
Fish Oil 1000 mg
Preservision with 20 mg Lutein
Co Q 10 75 mg
“So what did Nicole and Trevor think about the list of medicines?”
“We all still find it amazing that she is not infected, and to think that perhaps one of these medicines or a combination of some could be what made her immune. Nicola and Trevor did experiments with formaldehyde on a clean sample of blood, and the results were devastating, so there was no need to test the fluid on a mouse. All of the red blood cells dissolved almost immediately. Needless to say, the embalming fluid antidote theory is dead in the water. I’m glad we have a lead with the medicines. I know they are in the lab right now brainstorming.”
“I’m glad we do too. How’s Cole? And the rest of the guys?”
“Cole and Buddy are doing great. You should see him with that rat. They are never apart. He even sleeps with that thing. In the mornings, I usually go say hi to Cole and see how he is feeling. I can hear him all the way down the hall having a conversation with the rat. He’s asking him if he is hungry, is the milk good, and so forth. Sometimes, I stop and listen before I approach the glass, because he is totally into that rat, and the conversation is so cute. The other three guys are hanging in there. The discoloration is getting more pronounced, but they say they feel fine.”
We are pulling in the sheep station, so I say goodbye to Geoff. I’ll call him later today when we are done. We park the truck next to the plastic tent we left set up overnight. Mrs. Jones is sitting on her front porch waiting for us. I give her a wave as we park the vehicles. Dane is pleased to see what appears to be, the entire herd of sheep being held in the lower pasture. He asks Mrs. Jones about it, and she tells us that the sheep handlers got an early start this morning and rounded up the rest of the sheep. I know Derrick is happy about that because I’m not sure he could have ridden a horse today.
“Excellent! Let’s go get some blood, Dane. I sound like a vampire don’t I?” Derrick jokes.
The workers at the station have designed a system for collecting the blood. Right now the sheep are in the lower pasture. There are several hundred feet of cattle fencing between the lower and upper pasture that will be used as a walkway for the sheep. Right before the entrance to the upper pasture corral is a hydraulic cattle chute. Every fifth sheep will be held in the chute while the blood is drawn from a vein in the neck. Derrick will draw the blood and Dane will write down the ear tag number on the sample.
Derrick and Dane are both in position and the parade of sheep begins. The plan is working perfectly. I know Derrick is glad the chute is hydraulic, because if it were a manual chute, I think he would be exhausted after ten sheep. The samples are placed in a container designed specifically to hold vials, but extra care is being taken to avoid an accident.
I see in the distance a convoy of cars coming up the long, dusty driveway.
It is the CDC team and the animal control officers. Located alongside the main house are individual rooms used by the workers. Each room has a bedroom, bathroom, and a small kitchenette. The CDC team is going to set up a quarantine area around those rooms.
The animal control officers have made their way to the upper pasture where the 150 head of sheep are being held. They immediately reinforce the fencing and build dozens of troughs to be used for water and feed. They also brought with them a very large water buffalo--a bigger version of the one Dane used for Derrick and me. The water buffalo is used to store large amounts of water. The sheep need to be given fresh water, and this is the only option that will work.
Derrick and Dane are finishing collecting the blood samples from the sheep and are making their way back to the CDC lab truck. I saw Derrick knock on the door of the truck and pass the box full of vials to Taylor so he can start analyzing them. Derrick and Dane proceed over to the upper pasture and ask if there is anything they can do.
One of the workers told him they were almost done and didn’t need anything, but appreciated the offer. So Derrick and Dane stand up on the fencing and look like a couple of stable hands tending their flock. It’s a good look for Derrick.
“Hey Derrick, I am going to help Taylor with the blood samples. You look good standing up there with your blue jeans on and that cowboy hat riding low on your forehead,” I say with raised eyebrows.
He smiles at me and tips his hat. What a man!! He is just over six feet tall and about 195 pounds of solid muscle. He has beautiful light golden brown eyes with subtle shades of hazel in them. I can’t see his hair right now, but it is a light brown with blonde highlights from the sun. He keeps his face shaven clean, which I am very happy about.
I walk into the lab truck and get suited up to help analyze the blood. Taylor and I decide the best way to organize and keep the samples from getting mixed up is to write the sheep’s tag number on the slide. I have the list that Dane gave Taylor, so I will write all of the tag numbers on the slides. Then, one by one, Taylor will place a small sample of blood on each slide and put the cover over it. The sample will be checked, and if it is positive, I will place a check next to the tag number on the sheet.
So, we begin the process. Slide by slide we analyze the sheep’s blood. When we are done with one vial, it is placed in a bucket of bleach, along with the microscope slide and the dropper. We have to use a clean dropper for each sample to avoid contamination. The process is working great. There is no confusion and no mess, just the bucket of bleach that will be drained tomorrow. The droppers, slides, and vials will be burned by Matthew.
It takes the remainder of the day to test all of the sheeps’ blood. Every single sample was infected with the parasite, so we assume the entire herd is contaminated. While Taylor and I were analyzing the blood, Matthew poured hundreds of gallons of bleach into the station’s water supply. He also poured a la
rge amount of bleach into the grave and the surrounding soil where Thom’s body was exhumed. The water and the soil will be tested again tomorrow.
Our work is done for now. “Let’s go talk to Mrs. Jones, Kobi,” Taylor says. “Matthew, can you come with us please?”
“Okay,” Matthew answers.
“Mrs. Jones, we have finished checking the sheeps’ blood. I’m so sorry to
have to tell you that all 30 samples were infected with the parasite. So, we have to assume that the entire herd is infected. But, don’t give up on them yet. There is still time to find a cure and save your employees and the herd. Think positive, and don’t use the water at all. We have plenty of water for you to use during the next couple of days.”
Matthew speaks up and says, “Mrs. Jones, please flush out your water, using the faucets on the outside of the house. I have prepositioned large troughs with bleach in them under each faucet. Please run each faucet for ten minutes as soon as you wake up in the morning. Hopefully, that will kill any parasites that are in the pipes leading to the house. Also, I want you to run the faucets in your house to get the water circulating through the system. I have left a bottle of bleach by the kitchen sink and in the bathroom. After the water runs for ten minutes, pour some bleach into all your inside drains and allow water to flow for another minute. The CDC team will do the same thing in the living quarters for your employees.”
Mrs. Jones nods her head indicating to us that she understands exactly what she needs to do. But, just in case she questions herself later, Matthew has the instructions written down for her on a piece of paper and will put it on the kitchen table.
“Kobi and her crew are going to return to Darwin day after tomorrow. We will be here with you until the crisis is over,” Taylor explains.
“Thank you both so much. Kobi, will you be back tomorrow?”
“Yes ma’am, we will all be back here after lunch. We need to give the bleach time to kill the parasite before we check things out. If you need anything or have any questions while we are gone, the CDC quarantine crew will be here, so just ask. Is there anything you need us to bring you from town? Do you have enough groceries?”
“I am running low on bread and milk. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Of course not! I’ll be happy to bring you anything you need. In fact, here is my phone number. If you think of anything else you need tonight, please call me. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mrs. Jones.” I lift up my hand and give her a wave as I walk out the kitchen. She holds up her tiny little hand and gives me a wave back.