Have any Flutherites ever contracted Cat Scratch Fever or known anyone who has been affected by it?

Cat scratch disease (CSD) (also known as “Cat scratch fever,” “Inoculation lymphoreticulosis,” and “Subacute regional lymphadenitis”) is a usually benign infectious disease caused by the intracellular bacterium Bartonella. It is most commonly found in children 1–2 weeks following a cat scratch or bite.

Until a couple of weeks ago, I had heard of this malady, but had never known anyone who had been directly affected by it.

One warm night, we had left our front door open. Sometime during the night a stray cat wandered onto our porch. One of our own cats got into what I can only call a verbal argument with this stray through the open screen. I awoke to this caterwauling, got out of bed and went to close the door. When I tried to shoo my cat our of the way, I must have surprised him.

Apparently he was so enrapt in his verbal ‘argument’ with this other cat, that he didn’t hear my approach. He instinctively turned and attacked my bare leg, leaving me with several lacerations on my undeserving leg.

I quickly cleaned and dressed what I suspected to be superficial wounds and thought no more about it. Two days later, my leg began to swell and the tissue surrounding the wounds became highly inflamed. Within hours, my leg was swollen to twice it’s normal size making it very painful and nearly impossible to walk. The severe pain quickly became unmanageable, forcing a visit to the emergency room.

Have any of you ever had this illness or known anyone whose life has been affected by it? If so, what happened and how was it treated or cured? Were or are there any lasting effects?