The life and times of Melba Arthena Larson ans Oliver Lealand Laub or Wee Wobb's Kids and Mel's Brats by Cleo Laub Jackson 6/21/95

retyped and posted with added titles: by Kimberly Thurston a work still in progress

Ticks

One evening while Mom and Dad were off on the annual deer hunt getting our winter supply of meat, I was sitting listening to the radio in the evening.

I remember feeling a bump through the hair on top of my head. "La Verna, look at this and see what it is," She looked. She was shocked! "A huge tick!"

We were both grossed out to think a tick was attached to my scalp and so FAT! I wanted her to take it off.

She remembered Mom and Dad talking about ticks. You never pull a tick out of the skin because the head may be left behind causing a dreaded fever and possibly death.

She found Mom's book on Medicane and looked up TICKS. There was all the information confirming her fears. Now I was scared. I was going to die!

She called Uncle Kay's home as no one answered at Grandma's. Uncle Don and Aunt Agnes were visiting from Price, Utah.  When she heard how frightened we sounded, Aunt Agnes had Uncle Don take her down to the house 2 miles away immediately.

Before help arrived LaVerna determined to save me from the fever we both knew was sure to come and take me away. The medical book's instructions said to make the tick back out, taking his head with him, by touching it with kerosene.

Laverna poured a little Kerosene from what we had for our lanterns onto the tick. Nothing Happened! The offensive creature was still firmly attached.

I was whimpering and not positive LaVerna knew what she was doing. I had every confidence that she would eventually figure it out.

The second method of dislodging a tick was to strike a match and touch the tick with the tip of the extinguished match stick.

Aunt Agnes came through the kitchen door just as LaVerna was getting prepared to light the match. Aunt Agnes gave a yell and rushed to my rescue. she later told everyone she arrived just in time to stop LaVerna from striking a match to my head that was doused in Kerosene and sure to go up in flames.

Aunt Agnes called Doctor Reichman. The tick had been drowned and killed in the Kerosene treatment.

I was taken to the Doctor's office where the tick was cut out. As he explained to me what he was doing I pictured him taking big square plug out of my head like we did watermelons to see if they were ripe. Not a pretty thought. he did assure me I would not die and LaVerna had done well.

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