I am going to share with you a tale of woe.  Or, maybe, it’s a tale of bliss.

After all, I am here telling you the story.   And, that was not a preordained response just three months ago.

First, a little history.

I have had recurring bacterial pneumonia for decades.  Each major change of seasons, I would come down with bacterial pneumonia that would set me back for a few days.  Breathing was difficult, but not impossible, and life went on.  Admittedly, my bouts were a little more intense than regular bacterial pneumonia, but no one really paid that much attention.

It was clear- given my compromised respiratory system, that I probably harbored populations of Klebsiella pneumoniae (the microbe generally responsible for bacterial pneumonia) in my body long term.

This past October, from the 2^nd to the 9^th of October,  the Jewish holiday of Sukot was celebrated.  That is the celebration of the harvest festival, where we Jewish folks eat our meals in the little hut (called the Suka) among friends and imaginary guests.  (The imaginary guests are the Biblical heroes-  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David.)

Given the weather that had obtained over the past few months, I decided to arrange the suka to be built in the front of my home, not the back (as I’ve done for the past five decades).  There would be less chance for mosquitos to attack me and an easier process to bring food to and from my real guests.  (The path from the kitchen to the front of the house is all tiled; the path from kitchen to the back of the house requires traversing carpeting.)

I am guessing that I did get visited by a mosquito.  Who elected to bite me as they wont to do.  And, other than an itch (which meant I applied hydrogen peroxide to the bite), I did nothing.

Except this time, the bite was more dangerous.

Like those mosquitos that were infecting folks with Zika (this is a viral disease that causes fever, rash, muscle and joint pain, etc.), this mosquito must have activated the pneumonia microbes that exist in my body.

And, since the mosquito bit me in the back of my calf, I never saw any infection, any swelling, any reaction.  Nor, thankfully, did I feel any pain.

And,  this is but the start…

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