malariaaaaaaaaaaa!

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So on sunday morning, still at the eco village, i began to feel a bit off. I thought it was just exhaustion from the day before combined with the awful overbearing heat of the morning sun. unfortuantely that was not the case. Within a few hours i had a raging fever of what i estimate to be around 103-104 because i was nearing delirious. Of course, we were on a non accessable peninsula so we has no choice but to boat it back to the mainland. someone carried me on the boat and we made it back to the mainland alright, but i was feeling like crap, to put it lightly. my options were to go to the remote clinic, and risk a mis diagnosis, or get in a trotro and drive for three hours untill i reached accra. Because i had no cash, and because i dont really trust remote clinics for their cleanliness ( we DID have our own clean needles etc, but still) i took option two. They loaded me onto a trotro with a bag of ice to reduce my fever. and with about 50 people gathered and staring at the sick white girl we set off.

Because i read that whole where there are no doctors book i had a very good idea that i did in fact have malaria, and i knew that i had enough time to make it to the main hospital. The trotro was fine i guess, though i dont rememeber much of it. apparently we were stopped several times and checked by the police, but we still made very good time. i was removed from the tro tro and from there it was a five minute cab ride to the clinic. After seeing my pathetic state they put m right into hte emergency room, and hooked me up to an IV and turned my butt into a pin cushion for injections. They gave me the malaria diagnosis a few hours later a long with a UTI.. yayyy for me....

They let me go with the instructions to take 12 pills a day minimum for the malaria, UTI and the general pain that malaria brings. Sunday night was bad, monday was great. monday night was awful, tuesday was awful and today is recovery i think. The thing with malaria is that its very cyclical. you have a fever when the parasite is in your blood, and you feel nothing while it hides in your liver. It can affect you up to seven years after you have been in a malaria zone.

Characteristics include, shaking as your fever goes up, bone pain ( its reallllly not fun), and muscle cramps. LIght sensitivity and sensitivity to touch as well as general anger are also common. I mostly dealt with bone pain, ( its what i would guess severe arthritis to be like, joint pain and general burning in your bones that cannot be relieved) and muscle cramps on top of my fever and what not.

Luckily for me, malaria is common here, and so its easily treated with a variety of medications. Im feeling decent now, and im definately on the mend. That being said, im going to take nap!

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Comments

[kim]

good thing you called first...
Hei MarMar, It is a good thing that you called your mother before she had a chance to read this blog!! I am sooooo glad that you sounded good on the phone, and that you are on the mend. I will set up Dr. appts for your return to root out all of the little beasties that may be hiding in your liver and elsewhere. Love you, Momba

[EdVallance]

"Not fun"??!!
Hey! I nearly died from malaria myself a few months ago so I really feel for you! By the sound of it mine was a bit worse than yours, plus it took me ten days to get to a hospital. And yeh, that bone pain is hottific, you're very modest if you can describe it as just "not fun"!! I wrote a blog about my experience, check it out if you like

[Tiitta]

scary
Hi from Finland again... That sounds awful!! Glad you are better or at least getting there. Will malaria be a lifetime thing for you now or can it be permanently cured? Sanna is well and coming home for xmas in just 5 weeks, can't wait...We have a bit of snow already and very cold. And so dark all the time :( Take care. Love, Tiitta

[Grandma Audrey]

Glafd You're Better
Wow! More adventures! Wonderful that all your medical advice (boil the water, etc) is providing help and a better life for the locals. Seems like many of the children now seek you out because they trust you. Malaria sounds terrible, but by your comments seems fairly common in that location. Great they found some ice that you could put on your body for the long trotro ride. And of course, I'm very glad that you have recovered in a fairly short time. Thanksgiving is almost here and we'll being going out to Lance and Robin's place in Redondo Beach. Robin loves to fix a big Thanksgiving Feast and we usually eat around noon and then walk on the beautiful beach (3 blocks away) to work off all the food. I always bring a few pies as my contribution. Much Love and Take Care.