Wow Quahog,
That's amazing that it has taken this many years in between a tick bite. When I was young, I had six ticks on me. Different times of course. Where we lived, there were alot of them and I was always playing in the woods and had animals that had them. My Mom got quite good at getting them off me. Today, it would freak me out to get one!
I wish a speedy recovery for you and wishing you pain free days!
Take care,
Linda