UPDATED: I Can Always Find Drama

The bright spot of my day? I was watching Mystery Diagnosis and I totally  called it. I knew the patient had hemochromatosis the minute the guy got a winter tan. I did a little couch dance when the doctor made his big reveal. "Wooo! Hemochromatosis! I win!" Of course, the Big H runs in Gary's family, that's how I know about it. (He was tested. He's safe.)

Anyway, for a while the day was shaping up to be pretty dull, but then medical drama stepped in again. Fingolimod and Me reports that someone on our clinical trial drug got Hemorrhaging Focal Encephalitis. Don't try and google it; I think it's three random words strung together. I don't think doctors shrug, "Oh he got a touch of HFE." 

Little bloody dot of infection in your brain. Hemorrhaging Focal Encephalitis. Bah.

Not like real encephalitis, the encephalitis we worry about here. Yes, my town has a form of encephalitis named for it: Saint Louis encephalitis. So, take that Denver. Suck it, Toronto. Envy us, Auckland. I was surprised to read that the big outbreak was long ago in 1933. I remember hearing about an outbreak behind the Ted Drewes on Chippewa a few years back. That might have been West Nile, though.

So, surprisingly that news cheered me up, That is how boring my day was. At risk for Hemorrhaging Focal Encephalitis now? Just a touch of drama, that was all I needed.

=====================================================

Drama Update: Non-Saint Louis Encephalitis vials stolen: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/22/missing.virus.sample/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Comments

[Big Dot]

Hmm, "an encephalitis epidemic of explosive proportions", eh? Now is that just an infelicitous choice of words on Wiki's part, or was it really horror-movie stuff, back there in 1933?

[TheQueen]

Big Dot - Hey! 1,000 people! You are just jealous because we have an encephalitis named for us and you don't. Just keep trying, you'll make it.

[Big Dot]

Bugger the encephalitis - having had to Google Ted Drewes, all I can think about now is that I've never in my life eaten frozen custard.

[Kathy]

I totally like to "game" Mystery Diagnosis. I properly diagnosed the kid with Marfan Sydrome last week, which gave me a smug sense of superiority for about five seconds. Yeah, I'm a dork.

(PS - Your most popular lijit search is "spunky labia." Awesome?)

[TheQueen]

Big Dot - All I can give you is this:
http://www.recipesource.com/desserts/frozen-desserts/00/rec0020.html
But you'd need an ice cream maker.
Kathy - It is awesome, given that "Spunky labia" has four searches to "Steven Page"'s one.

[Big Dot]

Woohoo, sweetened condensed milk? This is one for me - and I do have an icecream maker! Shame it's autumn, though but.

[Caroline]

(Big Dot, true St. Louisans eat at Ted Drewes year round. You can even buy your Christmas tree there in the winter. Don't let autumn stop you from experiencing a concrete.)

[TheQueen]

Big Dot - Oh, fine, I'm sure there's a recipe out there with cream and High fructose corn syrup for the purists.
Caroline - I am Ellen, and I approve your message.

[Big Dot]

(Concrete, now! More Googling! Are they still served upside down?)

Lord, Queen, I won't have anyone sniff at sweetened condensed milk as an ingredient. It's marvellous stuff - apart from that unfortunate tendency for half-used tins in the fridge to empty themselves as if by magic.

[TheQueen]

Big Dot - but of course. In fact the counter staff at Ted Drewes does it unasked in the most robotic fashion - as if it's a chore. It doesn't faze them that this custard defies gravity. And I can't imagine drinking sweetened condensed milk. Too rich for me, and I'm from the midwest.

[Big Dot]

No, no, you don't DRINK it, what a crazy notion. What you do is, you leave it with a lid half off the tin so it gets a chewy crust, and then loiter hidden behind the open fridge door and scoop it out by the teaspoonful over the next few weeks. Days. Hours.

[TheQueen]

Big Dot - Oh! So sweetnened condensed clotted cream. That sounds fine.