Don Giovanni has been travelling wıth us for about half a year now. We never said anything about him, because he is quite shy. So shy, we did not even know he was there. Or rather that it was him who was there. Don Giovanni is the secret behind the two holes in Dylan’s legs that appeared somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean in April, just before we reached the Azores. Here is his story:
Two stigmata-like wounds appeared on both of Dylan’s calfs. Thinking that his body can heal itself, the first thing we did was waiting. After they had reached the size of a euro coin, we started to treat them with tea tree oil. When my mum saw the holes, she sent us to the doctor straight away. What followed was a journey through the world of medicine, from the hardcore conventional end to the airy realms of alternative healing. It included:
Antibiotic lotion for the alleged hair root infection, Swedish herbs, Spitzwegerich, antibiotic pills, silver salt bandages, more antibiotic lotion and hydrogen peroxide for what was then thought to be a staphylokokkus infection, jogging, a week of fasting, wound spray, blood cleansing tea, acupuncture, kinesiological tape, 5 different sorts of chinese medicine, pee, reiki and all sorts of good thoughts.
Spring had turned to autumn and the holes stayed unchanged. Already in Vienna by then, we decided that half a year was far too long for not getting healthy. We went to the airport ambulance to see a tropical specialist. He sent us to another tropical specialist at the Neusiedler See, who sent us to another tropical specialist at the hospital in Vienna, because she suspected a leishmaniosis. After a blood and tissue check and some more waiting we finally received the diagnosis: It is a leishmaniosis donovani. Our Don Giovanni.
Don Giovanni is actually many Don Giovannis, because they are a bunch of parasites transmitted by mosquitos. It is a visceral stem, which is bad, because it means that they are able to do to Dylan’s organs what they have done to his legs. It is from the ‘new world’ though, which is good, because it may just stay restricted to the skin.
To keep a long story short, he needs treatment as soon as possible. As a therapy would involve staying at a hospital and getting some 10.000 euros worth of infusions, we need to be covered by insurance. As neither our travelling insurance nor our German insurance feels like paying anything, we have to go back to Australia as soon as possible.
No Iran and Dubai and India and Nepal and Indonesia, no hitching and boats and donkeys. Just a neat flight, airplane meals and stewardesses. We are looking forward to Australia though, it’s nice to see Dylan’s family and friends earlier than we thought. And maybe by the time we go back to Europe Pakistan is travellable and we can smoothly travel back over land. Without Don Giovanni.
Goodness, this is bad news. I hope Dylan gets better soon and you’ll enjoy Australia a bit before you travel to Iran
I’m sending happy thoughts from claudia, myself and the little daughter that is slowly getting ready to enter this world
-blue skies-
Frank
Hey guys,
Damn, that’s a bummer about the leg holes! Hope it doesn’t turn into anything too serious. And missing the overland trip! Dammit. Oh well, heaps of time for that later, right.
So let us know if you’re coming over Melbourne way any time soon. Would love to catch up for a beer. We’ve always got a bed available too.
Stay cool,
Dave