Rabies - Kaitlyn's Story

Kaitlyn and Zach had plans - he was going to be a doctor and she a nurse. Zach's encounter with a rabid bat ended their plans.

Don't go near animals in the wild. If you do have an encounter with a wild animal, get medical attention immediately.

If you wake up and there's a bat in your room, assume you've been bitten - get medical attention right away.

Remember Zach Jones.

Edit and Music: Sandy Lincoln

Production: Cambridge Studios - Boston


Bat footage from www.batguys.com

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• human
• rabies
• rabid
• virus
• bat
• bats
• girlfriend
• boyfriend
• tragedy
• doctor
• nurse
• best
• friend
• sad
• tragic
• wildlife
• happy
• disease
• fatal
• Zach
• Jones
• preventable
• zoonotic
• CDC
• zoonosis

[RastabanPrincess89]

Sorry for your loss, but freaking people out about bats doesn't help. Bats are a carrier for rabies but so are your sweet little puppy dogs. People need to learn not to handle things that they do not know how to correctly work with that means cats to raccoons leave it alone if you dont know what to do. Nothing needs to be eradicated more than human ignorance, think about that before you condemn any animal.

[rabiesaware]

@RastabanPrincess89 It is not our intention to freak people out about bats. I agree - they are wonderful animals, but a bat is a wild animal. Going near any wild animal is not fair to the animal. Keep your distance and respect wildlife. And, if you wake up and find a bat in your room, please take it seriously. Not all bats carry rabies, but some do. All we're asking is that people be aware that rabies does exist in North America. Many thanks for your post.

[rabiesaware]

@KoljiSK Think about what you're saying. You really mean that - faked his own death?

[cupcakes12ist]

aww im srry for yur loss :(

[ChristophProbst]

@RastabanPrincess89 The bat flew in his room and bit him while he was sleeping. He didn't know he had been bitten. Its not as if he picked the bat up and knew he was bit.

[kawaiifutanarishow]

The saddest part is I'm pretty sure that for humans rabies can be cured if taken care of immediately...

[ThEThInGThAtRmMoY]

thats mean

[rickyeguizabal]

aww poor kid one day someone will find a cure for this virus.

[x3xhottiechikx2x]

@RastabanPrincess89 Also, even in her description, she warns people about wild animals in general and doesn't single out the bat species with the warning...The only reason she mentions them in the next sentence is because the bat is what related to her SPECIFIC story. Even after such a terrible thing happening, she shows no ill-will towards bats which is more than I can say for a lot of other people if they wound up in that situation. Like i said before, think twice before making accusations...

[x3xhottiechikx2x]

@RastabanPrincess89 I'm pretty sure her goal was not to freak people out about bats. All she was doing was telling the story of what happened & he just happened to get it from a bat. She didn't go out of her way to warn people about bats or tell anyone to stay away from them, the bat was just part of the story. Obviously she wasn't going to say he got it from a raccoon or something if that was not the case, just to make sure she didn't say anything bad about bats. Re-watch before accusing...

[Zagurzem]

Kaitlyn, how has your nurse studying been going?

[WinxMusa2011]

SO SAD i almost cried while watching this literlly

[EndlesslySheSaid85]

You seem like a beautiful girl and I'm so sorry for your loss. Good luck in becoming a nurse, Zach would be proud of you!