So, yes, you have a choice. You can quit right there because it hurt a little bit, or you can forget the hurt and get on with having fun and being happy. Right?
This was another moment that produced a little bit of pain. It resulted in a broken back.
There’s a risk in doing research. There’s a risk in everything you do. There’s a risk in getting out of bed in the morning. There’s a risk when hiking into the jungle looking for plants.
I traveled the Rio Bobonaza between Ecuador and Columbia looking for plants for possible development.
This was going up a tributary off the Amazon River in Peru looking for more plants. This was the week that I got bit and wound up with Chagas disease.* There’s a risk in everything.
*Mayo Clinic website: “Chagas (CHAH-gus) disease is an inflammatory, infectious disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is found in the feces of the triatomine (reduviid) bug.”