Sick sick and more sick

These past two weeks have not been kind to my body.

Two weekends ago Freddy Kruger invaded my stomach and he liked it so much he decided to hang out for next nine days. It was...unpleasant. To have to endure Freddy for a few days is one thing. I've done it. On more than one occasion since moving here. But after nine days I was pretty over having him around. My body was weary. Having to spend everyday with stabbing crampy birth like pains rattling your body has a way of draining you. 

By Tuesday of this week it seemed that Freddy was finally gone. But not before I was encouraged to bring a "sample" in a brown baggie to the clinic for testing. This is Africa...brown bags mean only one thing around here. And it ain't your lunch. Oh my...living here has a way of keepin' ya more humble than you ever wanted to be.....

With that most unpleasant experience seemingly behind me...I was finally feeling pretty good...for the next two days.

Until Thursday rolled around, and I woke up with a gnawing drip in my throat. By midday I had a full blown head cold and by night fall I had sneezed upwards of 100 times, my head was pounding, and everything in the general head and face area felt like it was splitting open.

I do not sleep well when I am sick. I am also not a medicine person...which is ironic because I have a nice cocktale of meds I have to take each morning. But, still, I'm the kind of person that usually just lives with the pain, for forever, until it passes, and never takes anything for it. I don't do it for any other reason than...I don't know why, it's just how I am. But Thursday night was so bad I was scurrying the cabinets for anything that would bring relief. And all I eneded up finding was a three year old expired bottle of children's benadryl. I'll pass thanks.

So, after waking up at 7:30am that morning I finally fell asleep at 3:30am to wake up three hours later at 6:30 and not go back to sleep until 11pm the next night.

Sleeping for a total of 3 hours in a 36 hour period is less than adequate in my opinion. My body was of the same opinion because by Friday afternoon I came down with a fever. And, whatever doctor said that Tylenol is the best at reducing fevers...is a liar. After taking 1000mg of Tylenol my fever not only didn't reduce...it kept climbing higher. The dang thing went from a meager 99.5 to 102.1 three hours later. So Isaak had we down another 800mg of IBP and finally, that did the trick and knocked my fever down.

I was finally able to sleep that night and woke up semi recovered...enough to function. My throat still aches and I sound like a monster when I talk...but overall I'd say that's an improvement from yesterday.

It is just a cold. People get sick in Africa from "cold" viruses like they do everywhere else. But it has come to my realization that while this is a "cold" virus, not unlike what I'd get in the states.... everything here is a new and different strain from what we're used to. So instead of having symptoms no worse than a runny nose like I'm used to...my body freaks out and gets a 102 degree fever.

Hopefully in time our bodies will continue adjusting to the new germs and viruses being introduced to our systems without making us so miserably sick.

However, realistically, I know that that takes time, much longer than 10 months. So I'm sure, however much to my dismay, that there will be more Freddy's and fevers in my future until my body gets the hang of living here more fully. Just prayerfully not any time again soon...my body needs a break!