Inside story on fox news: I was headed home Tuesday afternoon from Capitol Hill when the infamous fox bit me. Then I got an intimate lesson on how rabies shots work.
I’d come up to watch a House Agriculture Committee hearing and meet with some sources. I saw a scooter as I was heading out and thought I’d spare myself a walk in heels, but turns out I wouldn’t even make it a block — instead of walking home, I’d be ubering to the hospital.
Suddenly, I felt an aggressive pinch and scratch on my left ankle as I was walking alongside the large fountains found north of the Capitol. I screamed quite loudly, thinking I’d either been bitten by a squirrel (one stared me down on the way in) or a rat (there’s so many!).
As I whipped around, the orange fox darted in front of me. I thought it was going to jump at my face, so I swung my backpack at it and yelled at it to try and spook it away. It didn’t immediately work, so I looked to a few nearby families and staffers for help.
“It’s a fox,” I yelled, pointing at it and swinging my bag, afraid everyone thought I was crazy for randomly screaming.
Some of them ran over yelling at it — scaring the fox into the bushes. A kind staffer was already on the phone with Capitol Police and stayed with me throughout the whole ordeal.
On going viral: Instantly, local journalists popped out seemingly out of nowhere, some of them not so sympathetic. Listen, I understand the hustle as well as anyone up here. But if someone has just gone through an incident, and is clearly trying to get their bearings — you should wait a beat. Fortunately, reporters after were kind, understanding and kept their distance until I could talk.
I started Tweeting to distract myself. I didn’t think it would go so viral that friends working in news across the country would continuously reach out the next morning to tell me I was on their local newscasts.
Police arrived and cleaned the scratchy wound. Ambulance and paramedics came. I was advised to go to an emergency room — the only place that can administer a rabies shot. Due to pandemic regulations, the ambulance could not take me. I had to Uber.
Rabies shots confusion: At the hospital I was administered a rabies immunoglobulin, two shots around the wound that stung. It’s aimed at providing antibodies to stop potential rabies infections. I also received a tetanus shot for good measure. Unfortunately, the hospital forgot to give me a rabies vaccine shot, which DC Health warned me I needed to get when they called me the next day. And then the news broke that the fox had rabies.
Immediately, I had to drop everything and go back to the hospital. The nurses were confused. I was confused. I waited for several hours before they finally clarified that I was missing a vaccine and administered the rabies shot.
I made it home around 10 p.m. Exhausted but thankful for the coworkers who filled in for me, the friends who brought me dinner and the support from truly everywhere. To be clear, the incident could have been worse. The bite was more of a stab and scratch and it did not need stitches.
I still have to go back for three more rounds of shots. And for the record, the rabies shot itself? That’s not the bad one, it's the antibody one that stings!
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