After
our day with Nuskin we went to Mabuya to hang out for the rest of the day. We
didn’t really have any plans for Saturday so we were nervous about how we were
going to spend our time. I think we’re all getting a little tired of Lilongwe.
The girls were also a little nervous because we were staying in tents because
the dorms were all full. I was extra nervous on top of that because the last
time we stayed at Mabuya, I got that rash.
After
putting our stuff in the tent, I got a book from the library at Mabuya and read
a little bit. I didn’t really like the book very much so I put it back and
decided to take a shower so I would have a chance to dry off before it got cold
outside. After my shower, Whitney and I just hung out in our tent and talked.
After a while though my rash started to pop back up and my lips started
swelling really badly. When we got out to go brush our teeth we saw Emily and
told her what was up and we decided that I was definitely not made for Mabuya.
We decided that it would be best if I stayed at Korea Garden Lodge for the weekend
so Whitney and I packed back up, grabbed a flashlight, gave all of our
valuables to Nicolle and Camille and we started our hike to Korea Garden. On
the way there a car pulled off to the side of the road and offered us a ride,
saying they were from Mabuya but it was just too fishy for us to risk it so we
told them no thanks and kept walking.
When we
got to Korea Garden, they didn’t have bronze room available for that night
which is what we usually stay in because they’re the cheapest but they did have
a silver room so we took it and got a bronze room for the next night. We went
to our room and Whitney told me to take another shower to hopefully get off
whatever it was off so I wouldn’t be dealing with this rash for another two
weeks like the last time it happened. When all of that was over, I just wanted
to sleep so we climbed into the bed we were sharing and tried to sleep.
At
about 10 or 10:30 I wasn’t feeling too great. I was a little nauseous from
being in the sun all day and it had finally gotten bad enough that I actually
threw up. I really hate throwing up. After I threw up I felt better though so
we thought it would be a one and done kind of thing but I threw up two more
times that night. It was a long, miserable night. Whitney did a good job trying
to make me feel better and helping me try to figure out what the heck was going
on. I stopped throwing up around 4 so we tried to sleep but neither of us
really got too much sleep.
At one
point during the night I told Whitney that I felt like the old lady that
swallowed a fly because I’d start with one problem and then when a bigger
problem came along, the problem from before was better. I had a headache at
Mabuya, when my rash came back, my headache felt better and then when I was
throwing up my rash was doing alright. It was a stupid game.
The
next morning we had breakfast but I didn’t have very much because my stomach
still wasn’t feeling very good. Then we
checked out of our silver room and waited for our bronze room. While we waited,
we called Emily to let her know what was going on and told her that I should
probably see a doctor again, especially since I ran out of drugs for my rash
and it didn’t look like it was going away any time soon. Emily called Moses and
he came to take us to see a doctor.
The
first place we went to was closed because it was a weekend or because it was it
was Malawian Independence Day. Then Moses took us to a hospital that’s funded
by Korea because he knew it would be open.
When we
got to the hospital it was lunch break so we had to wait for everybody to get
back. I was so tired that I just wanted to sleep but I couldn’t. When the lunch
break was over it was time to ping-pong around the hospital. I got a health
passport from reception. I hope I don’t have to use it again while I’m here.
Then I went into a room and got my vitals taken then went into another room
marked “Internal Medicine” to talk to a doctor about what was going on. He
wrote in my passport and gave me another sheet of paper to take to the lab to
get some tests done. They had to get
some blood drawn for the tests but it wasn’t working very well, probably
because I was really dehydrated. Whenever I put anything in my stomach I felt
nauseated. So the lab tech guy put a tourniquet on my right arm and put in the
needle but couldn’t get any blood out. Then he switched arms and still nothing.
He told us that I’d have to go the casualties to get blood drawn because they
had some other ways to do it. It was about then that I almost passed out. It
was probably because I was tired, dehydrated and all of my blood was in my arms
and turning blue. I couldn’t hear what anybody was saying and I felt like my
whole body was numb and it wasn’t fun. Emily told the tech that I was going to
pass out and he said to hurry up and go the casualties anyway so Emily and
Whitney helped me walk over there where they would let me sit down for a
little.
After
that I decided it would be ok to drink some water, even if it made me feel
sick. Emily had a water bottle in her purse and I would sip on it every once in
a while.
Casualties
was also the emergency room so there was some pretty serious stuff going on in
there. There were beds and wheel chairs and IVs and it didn’t look like a fun
place to be. They were able to draw some blood out of a vein in my hand and
Whitney and Emily were telling me stories to distract me because I still wasn’t
feeling wonderful and I had just about had all I could take of needles. When
they got the blood, we took it back over to the lab and waited for the results.
When we
got the results, we went back in line to wait to talk to the doctor again.
While we were waiting we tried to figure out what they all meant but we
couldn’t figure it out. When we got back in to see the doctor he said the test
for malaria was negative, good news, but I had a high white blood cell count. I
thought that made sense because I was having an allergic reaction. The doctor
said that meant I had a bacterial infection in my blood. I was prescribed a
whole bunch of stuff including Piritor which is what the last doctor gave me
for my rash and worked really well. I also got two different kinds of
antibiotics and some ibuprofen to help with the swelling I guess. I also had to
get some antibiotics injected into me. That was the second worst part of the
whole trip. We went back to casualties and I thought it was just going to be a
couple shots but it had to be injected through IV. Shoot, now I have to get
stuck again and have it sit there while the medicine is going through.
Whitney
and Emily distracted me again while they put the needle in and hooked a syringe
up to inject the drugs. Then the guy that was in charge of the needles would
push the plunger down a little and then walk away to do other stuff while I
would hold the syringe to keep it from moving the needle in my arm too much.
One time he pushed the plunger down too much and I felt nauseous almost
immediately and both of my arms went numb and I couldn’t hold the syringe so
Whitney took over. Fortunately I didn’t throw up but it was rough. When one
bottle was done I was excited but we had to do another one! I just had to be
very patient and long suffering so I could just get through it and hopefully
get feeling better really soon.
After all of that was over, we got some food
on our way back to Korea Garden then I ate a little and then slept until about
7.
At 7 I
ate again and Whitney and I talked a little. She didn’t get a nap so she was
really tired. My rash was coming back again so I put on some more cortisone and
we got ready for bed and tried to sleep. I was feeling pretty nauseous again
while I was lying in bed and it just wouldn’t go away so I went outside to try
to cool off to see if that would help but it wasn’t working. It was the same
kind of nausea that I get when I don’t take enough food with my doxey.
Eventually I threw up and felt better and went back to bed. Whitney got one of
her bandanas wet for me and that helped because I think I had a little bit of a
fever. After that I slept alright and didn’t throw up again.
In the
morning we packed up and I had some breakfast. I was able to eat a little more
than I had the day before and I took all of my drugs. It was a lot. Then we
checked out and went to church. I was armed with Whitney’s wet bandana to help
keep my fever down and it also helped relieve the itching from my rash.
It was
good to go to church. I was still tired and Whitney didn’t sleep well so I’m
sure she was really tired too but she handled it better than I did. After
church we went back to SAFI and I went straight to bed. I got up again around
dinner and I just wasn’t feeling good. I could tell something was wrong with my
stomach but I didn’t know what and I really didn’t want to take my drugs again
or eat dinner because I was afraid I was going to throw up. I was just scared,
and sick and tired of being sick and tired. I got a blessing and Nicolle and
Camille gave me a back rub and helped me calm down and little and I eventually
went back to sleep. Everybody has been really helpful trying to get me feeling
better. I have been offered tons of food but I don’t quite have the stomach to
eat it all yet. Emily gave me some electrolyte stuff to help me get rehydrated
and some probiotics because we think all the antibiotics might be killing off
the good bacteria in my gut and making me feel gross. It just felt good to go
back to sleep. Sleep is doing me a lot of good right now.
When I
woke up this morning I was feeling better. My rash was coming back like it
always does but it’s manageable. I’ve decided that I’m going to try to minimize
the drugs I’m taking until I have more of an appetite so I’m skipping my doxey
because I’m on two other antibiotics and I’m also skipping Ibuprofen because
I’m not really too swollen or sore so I figure I don’t really need that either.
I am starting to feel better again. It’ll just be a matter of time before I’m
back to being healthy again and I really don’t want to get sick again while I’m
here. It’s a good thing I only have a month left.
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