What The Bubonic Plague Looks Like Today

I’m officially terrified.

These photo show Paul Gaylord as he recovers from the plague in Bend, Oregon.

Gaylord contracted the disease when he tried to pull a mouse out of the mouth of his cat, Charlie, because it was choking on the rodent.

The disease, a version of the medieval scourge that wiped out at least a third of Europe, took away the 59-year-old welder’s fingertips, his toes and his ability to make a living. He faces an arduous recovery surrounded by constant reminders of his misery, the infected cat died, and the trailer he’s living in has a mouse problem.

Image by Anonymous / AP

Image by Anonymous / AP