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Which sounds most likely to happen to a germaphobe?

The plot of a short story I'm working on a germaphobe gets into a car accident, since it's an old car it'll take a while, only got a small cut but refuses to go to a doctor because of his phobia. He rides the bus since he doesn't have any friends to carpool with. He sees an elderly woman get sick of pneumonia (vomiting blood) with her 20ish year old grandson getting an ambulance.

Over time, he makes friends with the grandson out of concern for the woman since she reminds the main guy of his mom (died of a staph infection which started his paranoia). I am planning on having him at least recognize his fear more-so than to have him be a new person.

Should the grandson catch pneumonia and should he survive or die or should the main character get an infection in the cut he got from the accident because he was too afraid to acknowledge it and get a doctor's help?

1 Answer

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  • 9 years ago
    Favourite answer

    Unless the grandson is otherwise medically compromised, he is pretty unlikely to die from pneumonia.

    In addition, your germophobe is more likely than most folks to take great care with his cut (e.g., treating with topical antibiotics, covering it) than average people, so it it quite unlikely that he would die from a simple cut.

    Good luck with your story,

    ~Dr. B.~

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