Wilburt the campylobacter

Wilburt the campylobacter is my dear friend that I made I Fiji and who traveled with me in New Zealand for quite some time. He and I met on the beach right after I refused to pay for water at my resort and drank the brackish staff water instead. Wilburt soon discovered that my GI tract was a quite cozy environment, and therefore made himself at home.

Wilburt was shy at first, and only chirped up with low fevers and general weakness . However, a 20+ km day of grueling hiking at the Tongariro Crossing gave him just the confidence booster he needed to speak up and hold his own. Wilburt loved climbing among the volcanoes, and thought that the emerald green crater lakes were some of the prettiest he’d ever seen. These beautiful sights strengthened his soul and his will to secure his position in such an adventurous host’s body. He quickly multiplied into many little Wilburts and made himself known in a very real and uncomfortable way. Philip was a dear and carried our pack during the entire eight hour hike, but we still had to stop every twenty minutes or so for me to double over and groan in pain.

Sadly, Wilburt’s enthusiasm was beginning to get on my nerves, and it became evident that we could no longer be friends. Try not to pity him - Wilburt meaningful existence. It's not every campylobacter that gets to go skydiving or roll down a hill in a giant inflatable plastic ball. He accompanied me on quite a few crazy adventures, but the time eventually came when we had to say goodbye. I’ll always remember him with fondness ,but hope that we never meet again.

*sidenote: Tests from the hospital eventually showed that Wilburt was not actually a campylobacter, but rather a nasty GI bug of another sort. However, the name had already stuck, so "Wilburt the campylobacter" it will remain.