It’s almost Summer, and we all know what that means; swimming pools, camping, hiking, good times outdoors with friends, minus the Bud Light.
However, it also means the outdoors will be teeming with biting, stinging insects, and all manner of wildlife.
The wildlife is all well and good, unless you see something that doesn’t look right. Specifically, nocturnal animals during the daytime. Generally speaking, if you see a raccoon, skunk, possum, or any of their night-owl brethren, it’s best to head the opposite direction.
In short, don’t pet a daytime raccoon, as they are likely sick.
No one wants rabies. The shots are excruciating, and if left unchecked there is an almost one hundred percent fatality rate for humans.
Pittsburgh Pirates' Travis Swaggerty reveals his wife has blood disease after raccoon attack https://t.co/QV9cSKnkNG pic.twitter.com/jFzIT5UWLS
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) June 1, 2023
For one Pittsburgh Pirates prospect, his wife learned the hard way to steer clear of sick animals, and now she is dealing with an extremely rare blood disease, courtesy of Rockey Raccoon. Check this out.
"*" indicates required fields
Travis Swaggerty is an outfielder in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. On Wednesday, he took to Twitter to discuss his wife Peyton’s battle with an “extremely rare, painful blood disease that has completely taken over her body.”
Swaggerty wrote in a social media post:
“Tomorrow, my wife Peyton heads to the Mayo Clinic… after being attacked by a rabid raccoon over a year ago and a lot of guesses and medicines have been thrown at her,”
“It has riddled her with unresolved pain and problems and completely taken her quality of life away from her.”
Swaggerty didn’t elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the alleged attack, but almost certainly his wife had to undergo the painful rabies treatment. However, that didn’t completely fix the problem. He continued:
“I wanted to share this to ask for support and prayers for her, along with reminding everyone to not take anything for granted in this life, especially the little things,” he said. “Her faith and trust in God has never wavered. Please take the time to pray for her if you feel compelled to and for the doctors to give her some comfort, and ultimately a solution.”
The situation must be dire, and Swaggerty is attempting to remind people to live every moment as if it is their last, because it could be.
No one thinks something as innocuous as an animal bite could be life threatening. Even with rabies, if the proper treatment happens the survival rate is basically one hundred percent.
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Swaggerty with the 10th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. While he hasn’t quite broken through to the bigs, aside from a couple of appearances with the Bucs, he is still at triple a. It is difficult enough to focus on everyday life when a loved one is undergoing a medical crisis, no less be on the road as much as Swaggerty is, with a gravely ill wife.
This just serves as a reminder to never take life for granted, live every moment, and stay away from weird, unnatural acting animals, even if they seem cute and harmless.