Peter had good reason to become alarmed when he discovered a strange hole in his thumb. The cause was unknown, but Peter had no idea whether the symptom could pose a threat to his life. To seek an answer, he visited the hospital that afternoon. But after the doctor examined his finger, he couldn't give Peter any good news.
When Peter was diagnosed, the doctor dialed the police right away.
No Good Reason
Peter was forced to enter the hospital room without any explanation. After performing some tests, the doctor immediately left the room to call the police when he received the results. Peter, who is left alone in the hospital room, becomes alarmed when he realizes how critical his condition might be.
He Felt Anxious
Peter panicked when he tried to leave the hospital room and discovered that it has been locked from the outside. He bangs on the door and tries to push it open. The door opened at last after several attempts. The physician who had locked Peter in the room then appeared in front of him.
His Diagnosis
The doctor was forced to tell Peter what he had discovered. Peter collapsed to the floor upon hearing the physician's diagnosis. So what did the physician find? What is the cause of the hole in Peter's finger? And why were the police called to the scene?
Nothing Out of the Ordinary
When Peter woke up that morning, it seemed like a day like any other. He awoke when his alarm clock went off and got out of bed to get to the kitchen to brew some coffee. During the coffee-brewing process, he doesn't notice anything odd. Not until he was about to pour the coffee into his cup did he realize what had happened. Peter almost screamed with shock.
Peter's Routine
40-year-old Peter is a bachelor. Although he has dated before, he has never been in a romantic relationship. But this time, he hoped, would be different. He had high hopes for this first encounter with a new woman, but everything soon went terribly wrong.
A Second Date?
Although he believed the likelihood that they would click was small, Peter decided to meet the woman he had met online. The date wasn't particularly memorable, and she didn't seem particularly interested in him. He, too, was unsure of whether or not he wanted to see her again. 'I really don't want to go on a second date,' he thought the following morning, because the events of the date were extremely odd. He didn't know what would happen next and he didn't want her involved.
Bizarre Events
Peter discovered his thumb wasn't working properly the morning following the date. He felt a prickling pain in the digit. The reason for his sore thumb became clear upon closer inspection. Peter is horrified when he sees the strange sight. But why is he acting this way?
Many Tiny Holes
Peter's thumb was covered in tiny holes. He initially believed that something was stuck to his thumb, but upon closer inspection, what he was looking at was clearly a bunch of holes. The pain increased when he applied pressure with a different finger. There is obviously a serious problem here.
Bug Bite?
Peter paused to consider what might have caused this. He might have been bitten by a bug or had a parasite infection. Maybe he woke up in the middle of the night with a bug stuck to his thumb? However, he had never seen a parasite that acts in this manner. After researching it online, Peter came to the conclusion that no parasite could have caused this. Surely, the answer to his problem is much more serious.
Confusion
Peter became more and more baffled as he continued to examine his thumb. 'There must be something in the hole,' he thought to himself. 'I'm not sure what it is, but I am certain that there is something in there.' The material inside the hole also seemed hard. He must take action now. Luckily, Peter had an idea.
Finding Tweezers
Peter made the choice to use tweezers to extract the object from his thumb. He found the tweezers and went to the bathroom. But he hesitated as he fixed his gaze on his thumb. He's not sure why, but if he messes with his thumb, his problem might worsen, he reasoned. After thinking about it, he decided to just leave the problem alone.
He Can't Stand Doctors
Peter hated to be around hospitals. He likes to handle things by himself. Except in extreme cases, he rarely visits the doctor. But this time, he had to visit the doctor because he couldn't figure out this issue himself. Peter finally decides to call the hospital.
Urgent Appointment
He was able to schedule a somewhat urgent appointment for later that day. "There are a number of patients I need to see before you, but I can definitely see you later today," the doctor said on the phone. The doctor then asked Peter if he could do something for him.
Answer This Question
"Have you done anything recently that could have triggered these symptoms?" the doctor asked Peter. "Please let me know if you did something even slightly different. It could help with my diagnosis." Peter hung up after saying, "Okay, I'll think about it." What made the doctor ask this? Peter had no idea what was going on.
Hike Through the Woods
Peter thought back on the previous week. There wasn't much that was different from usual, in his opinion. He recently went on a hike in the woods, and perhaps he touched something he shouldn't have. Maybe it was a strange mushroom or contaminated moss. That must be the cause, Peter was sure of it.
Could It Be?
Peter continued to reflect and concluded that the hike couldn't be to blame. "It's a well-traveled path. There must be a large number of people who have chosen the same path. There must be many people with the same symptoms if my hike was the cause of this." Peter was convinced that his hike was the cause, but he couldn't be sure. But there was a reason for his strange ailment, and the doctor would soon find out what it was.
A Normal Guy
It was hard for Peter to consider what else in his routine could have caused his symptoms. Peter is just a normal guy and besides the occasional hike or going out to a nice restaurant every once in a while, he doesn’t do much else outside his apartment. He works from home and doesn’t go out often. He lives a very routine life. But then he realized another thing he did last week. “Just one second, I did do something different.”
His Online Date
“I remember going out on a date the night before. I talked with her for a while online and we finally we out together.” Peter had been so excited to test the waters with her. He was still looking for his soul mate, and he was hoping the date would go well. But things didn’t really turn out that way.
Their Disastrous Date
From the moment they met each other, Peter felt that something was “off” with his date. She didn’t seem to show any interest in him, despite being very friendly online. She seemed to really dislike Peter, but once Peter expressed this to her, she changed and became very friendly again. The date was one of the weirder ones that Peter had been on, but there was something else bothering him.
Hopeless
Looking back on it, Peter wasn’t sure why she reached out to him to begin with. While reading her past messages again, Peter now thought it was clear that she didn’t like him much to begin with. Maybe Peter had just been gullible and he hadn’t been thinking clearly. But surely she couldn’t have anything to do with his current symptoms?
They Didn’t Do Anything Physical
Peter didn’t think that she could have anything to do with his symptoms because the date never progressed past the restaurant. Peter hadn’t even heard from her since they parted ways the night before. If she did something, she would have had to have been very sneaky about it. Peter was frustrated that he still didn’t have any answers about his thumb, but it was finally time for him to go to the hospital.
No Change
On his way to his doctor’s appointment, Peter still had no clues about what happened to his thumb. He tried to jog his memory in the car, but nothing came to mind. Luckily, his thumb was still feeling and looking the same as it had that morning. The holes may have gotten a little bigger throughout the day, but the pain level had remained the same. Maybe the doctor would know what it was and it wouldn’t be such a big deal, Peter hoped.
He Felt Anxious
Peter still had no other possible causes of his thumb condition in his mind when he arrived at the hospital. After taking a deep breath to calm down, Peter finally walked into the clinic. He expected a long wait to actually see the doctor, but they let him in almost immediately.
Waiting Room
While he was waiting, Peter noticed a lot of other people in the room staring at him. The holes in his thumb were clearly visible, and people didn’t even hide their shocked looks. When he noticed that he was the center of attention in the waiting room, Peter grew even more anxious.
Curious
The other patients in the room were clearly curious about Peter’s condition. Children in the room even tried to get a close up look at his injury before their parents stopped them. Peter had as many questions about his thumb as anyone else, and he was quickly growing impatient thanks to the attention of everyone else in the room. Luckily he wouldn’t have to wait long…
The Doctor Arrived
When the doctor called out the name of his next patient, something unexpected happened. The patient himself stood up and told the doctor to examine Peter first! The unknown patient said that his symptoms clearly weren’t as serious at Peter’s, who was stunned that everyone in the room wanted answers as badly as he did. Peter thought that he could wait his turn, but the doctor welcomed him into the office immediately.
The Examination Room
The doctor who was performing the check up on Peter was clearly intrigued by his situation. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said to himself. What Peter didn’t know was that the doctor couldn’t remember any patient with similar symptoms or any similar cases in any medical book. The doctor was stumped as to what to do next.
A Few Tests
The doctor told Peter that his issue might take some time to diagnose. He then transferred his next appointments to another doctor in the building. He needed to devote all of his time and energy to Peter’s ailment. “Whatever this is, we will find a cure,” the doctor told Peter.
Waiting For Results
After the exam, the doctor continued to look at Peter’s thumb while he awaited the test results. Strangely enough, the pain in Peter’s thumb that had been present all day had just subsided. Unfortunately, Peter could no longer feel his thumb at all, which he knew couldn’t be a good sign.
Peter Had to Make a Choice
The first test results came back quickly. They came in while the doctor was examining Peter’s thumb and they showed no clear diagnoses. This meant that the doctor would have to do other tests on Peter to find out what was going on. But this time, he needed Peter’s permission to do these tests. He was hopeful that Peter would agree to more testing.
He Posted Peter’s Thumb Online
Peter agreed to more testing, although he was reluctant to do so. While awaiting more results, the doctor took a photo of Peter’s thumb to post on an online medical bulletin board. He was hoping that other doctors might recognize what was going on. After a while, a reply came in.
A New Message
Peter excused himself to go to the bathroom while his doctor posted the photo online. Almost instantly, a message came in from another doctor, and Peter’s doctor was hopeful that someone could solve this mystery. The doctor did get some answers, but it turned out that the entire situation was more horrifying than he had thought.
Serious News
The message was from a doctor who had seen the same symptoms before. Her message read, "If we don't act now, everyone, including Peter, will be in big trouble." The doctor read the message over and over and thought, "If this is true, we must act now."
Inspection Results
Just as Peter's doctor finished reading the message, the test results arrived. The chilling results proved the doctor's message was correct. Peter's doctor left the office and things immediately changed.
Empty Doctor's Office
Peter came back from the restroom. The condition of his thumb was not good. The hole was starting to spread out into his hand. At this point he was very scared, but he knew he could immediately show the doctor his progress. However, there was one problem. The doctor wasn't in the examination room when Peter came back from the restroom. What should he do?
The Room Was Locked
"What should I do..." Peter was thinking, when he heard a noise behind him. The door he just entered had been locked from the outside! He was locked in the examination room. To make matters worse, his doctor could be heard telling another staff member, "I called the police." What's going on?
No Answer
Peter asked for an explanation through the door, but no one answered. The nurses and doctors were arguing frantically and did not answer Peter's questions. All they said was, "Keep calm until the police come." Peter complied with the instructions.
His Mind Raced
Feeling anxious and frightened, Peter became very worried about his thumb when he saw the reaction of the hospital staff. "What's wrong? Am I going to die?" He tried to keep calm, but it was no longer possible. "I don't want to die!" thought Peter.
He Got Even More Angry
Eventually fear turned into anger. Why is no one talking to him? Not knowing what else to do, Peter started kicking the door. He was desperate to get out. The doctor on the other side of the door yelled "stop!" but Peter kicked the door so hard that he couldn’t hear it. He was determined to get out no matter what.
Breaking Down the Door
After a few kicks the lock broke and the door opened wide. People on the other side screamed. Even the doctor backed off. Peter just stood there breathless. It was hard to kick the door open, but he desperately wanted someone to explain what was going on. He was going to go crazy if someone didn't tell him what was going on.
Stay Back!
The doctor yelled at the other staff members, "Stay away from him!" and told Peter, "Stay back." No one should come near him. The fear in the doctor's voice told Peter's fate, but his heart was made up. He said, "If you don't explain the situation, I'm coming over there!"
The Police Enter
Before the doctor could even begin to speak, three armed policemen entered the ward and found Peter. The doctor pointed at Peter and shouted, "It's him!" The officers pulled out their pistols and aimed them at Peter. Peter almost fainted at the unexpected development. What the heck is going on?
Fear
When the police pointed their pistols at him, Peter raised his hands. With tears in his eyes, he plead, "Tell me what's going on." Seeing that his thumb hole extended halfway up his palm, the officers said, "Get down."
Isolation
"I'll tell you everything, but I need to quarantine you now," said one cop calmly. Peter agreed, but insisted, "I wouldn't hesitate to kick other doors open to get an answer." He was frightened, but no one would tell him what's going on.
The Staff Started Cleaning
Peter returned to the examination room and the door was closed. He saw the staff bring out heavy cleaning supplies. They started cleaning everything: floors, walls, doors. Finally, a doctor came to the door and told Peter what was happening.
Virus
The doctor first apologized for not telling Peter what was going on. "You were scared, so I should have explained what happened." He continued, “I didn't expect a person infected with flesh-eating bacteria to come in today, and I didn't expect to have to do something I hadn't done before. So I couldn't handle it well.” He thought the doctor was using poor judgement, but that wasn’t all.
A Fungal Plant
The doctor and Peter discussed what he had been doing the day before. Peter went hiking and went out on a date at night. Luckily for Peter, it wasn't a bad date that caused his punctured finger. "You must have touched a plant with a man-eating fungus on it while hiking," the doctor said. Which plant was it?
He Needed Help
Peter had no idea which plant was the problem. He told the police and doctors the route he had taken and what he thought might be a clue to the cause. He didn’t know what else he could do. More than that, he couldn't help but wonder, "How will it be treated?" Can it be treated? Or will the virus eat his hands?
Everyone Panicked
Luckily, the hospital had the medicine Peter needed. But he had to isolate himself for a while. The police got into trouble because they had to question Peter about the hike, but when he came out of the isolation room, the doctors panicked, and so did the police. It's been a big fuss, but there's still more to come.
Treatment
Hospital staff had to make sure no one else got infected. Peter was safely transported to another hospital where he was able to remain in isolation while being treated for the fungus that eroded his hands. Luckily, the medicine stopped the virus from spreading through his body, and within a few days things were improving. Did they find the plant that caused it?
Look Out for Plants
Officers closed off the hiking trail and after a frantic search, they found plants that were not supposed to be in the area. Upon examination, the plant was found to be the cause of Peter's symptoms and was uprooted. Since then, no one has shown the same symptoms as Peter, and in about a month, Peter completely recovered and was able to go out on dates again.
The events of this story are entirely fictional and are products of the author’s imagination. Images included are meant for illustration purposes only. Any resemblance to actual events, places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.