Forget H1N1; I may have Hantavirus.

First, a definition. Then a story.

Hantavirus: Hantavirus is a disease characterized by symptoms that resemble the flu, followed by respiratory failure. Hantavirus is carried by rodents, particularly deer mice, and is present in their urine and feces. The virus does not cause disease in the carrier animal. Humans are thought to become infected when they are exposed to contaminated dust from the nests or droppings of mice.

I thought I would live my whole life without needing to be educated on this disturbing disease, but since I wasn't so fortunate to live in ignorance, you no longer will either.

The back story: WE FINALLY MOVED OUR STUFF OUT OF UTAH!! It is now in a storage unit in WA until we buy a home. (Don't ask when that will be because I have no answer.) Jarron and I left our boys with his sister, Tiffany (THANKS FOR BABYSITTING!!) and headed to SLC to clean out our apartment. We were blessed a million times during this journey and I will abbreviate the details by saying that I am truly amazed at how aware Heavenly Father is of our family. Jarron's amazing(ly strong) friends loaded the truck within a couple of hours and I really didn't have to do much. My only task was to assist Natalie (Jarron's younger sister) in pitching our crappy entertainment center off our four story balcony. All went well.

Then Jarron and I headed to Idaho Falls to fetch a fridge and piano from my parents. I had been SO excited to finally have the piano in my possession and had spent hours convincing Jarron that it was worth the trouble and expense to keep it for our future home. He grumbled, complained, finally admitted defeat, and was ready to move it into the truck as soon as we got to my parent's home. I asked my mom for a dusting cloth and cleaner and started to wipe down the piano before I would let Jarron load it. (It had been stored in the garage for the past few months and was quite dirty.) Then I opened the fall board that covers the keys and saw some sticky yellowish gunk all over the white keys. I grimaced and thought, "What the crap is all over my piano??!" Then I pushed the fall board all the way back and found a freaking DEER MOUSE huddled in the high notes!! I spent the next few seconds screaming my bloody head off while my half-lunatic mother attempted to PET the vermin! Screaming commenced (solely on my part) until my mom found her wits and shooed it out. She then assured me that it hadn't been there long because there wasn't much excrement. (Is that supposed to relieve me?) I had enough of cleaning and left the rest to my mom. Jarron and I measured and rearranged the truck while we waited for my mom to finish. When I went to check on her progress, she told me that she had lifted the top board and found a NEST and TWO MORE MICE. (Not to mention, a LOT of poop.)

More screaming.

My good mother cleaned it out the best she could and then we loaded it onto the truck. She promised to pay for professional cleaning, but I am now wondering if I can stomach keeping my dear, infected piano. It wasn't until later that evening that I learned about hantavirus. A Canadian report said that only 6% of all mice studied were found to be contaminated. Relieving? Not really. This was a Canadian report and the incident I am worried about happened in America. I will let you know if my health fails within the next 5 weeks (potential incubation period for hantavirus). And YAY if it doesn't, but then there's always the swine-flu. Ain't nature fascinating?

PS--anybody in need of a piano?