Admitted

*If you don't like ick don't read.*

In the early hours of Thursday morning, I am awakened by the sudden and urgent need to use the bathroom. I proceed to get sick. I spent the next 8 hours running to and from the bathroom. There is nothing left in my bowels or my stomach by the end.

Around 8:30 I sent a message to my bosses letting them know I was sick. When they asked me what was going on I told them I have been sick all morning. My one boss decided I needed to go to the clinic. I don't think I would have gone if it weren't for her. At least not at that point.

So, 2 hours later I was being picked up and brought into one of the local clinics here. It's a 24/7 clinic that does all kinds of medical care. It's not a hospital. But they were able to run tests on me. The tests are basic. But they know what they typically are looking for. I told them my symptoms and they decided on three different tests.

Within 30 minutes I had my results. Despite being on prophylactic antibiotics to prevent malaria I somehow manage to be the lucky one who got it. Medicine isn't perfect. I don't regret taking the medication and honestly it could be worse.

So, I'm definitely sick. And I'm dehydrated. I can barely get water into my stomach without having it come right back up. Forget food. But I am blessed with a midwife I work with named Vicky being my co-patient. She helps remind me I need to drink and nags me about making sure I'm eating and taking in fluids. They say medical workers make the worst patients and I totally believe that.

I get hooked up with an IV site. They then proceed to push several different medications of which I ask the names but I'm not familiar with them. That's not uncommon as many of the medications have different names in what we use in the US. Here Tylenol is called paracetamol. Anyways they push a medication for nausea that works really quickly. Finally, some relief. And then there's the antimalarial medication. 

After getting these medications I am hooked up to an IV line for fluids. I'm definitely dehydrated. I can tell you as soon as I start feeling the effects of the hydration and the other medications, I feel a significantly better. I'm not going to go running around and jumping in the air but I feel better.

So, I stay hooked up to the IV for a while letting it run. There are no pumps here so it's running to gravity and being titrated by the little knob. Tape is used to keep my IV line in place. It's a much different IV line than the ones we have in the US. There are no alcohol swabs to clean between medications. There are no flushes either.

At one point when they were drawing up the antimalarial medication, they are using ampules. You have to break the glass of the ampule to drop the medication. When they break it, the glass goes flying and a piece lands on my neck. Thankfully it doesn't cut me but it's still frustrating. And of course, there are no filter straws so they draw the medication up with a regular needle. It's not what we do in the US but it's what they have here so it's better than nothing. 

Once the IV is done running I feel up to walking to the bathroom. My stomach is still upset but nothing like it was earlier. However, I still don't have a desire to eat. I've tried to eat bites of bread but it's hard. I want nothing more than to lay here. But Vicky encourages me to try some tea and to keep drinking my water which has electrolytes and rehydration salts in it.

Like I said earlier Vicky is my co patient. What that means here she is the one who helps make sure I have things like bedding which they typically don't supply though I was fortunate that they had a sheet that I could lay on. She also makes sure I get food and helps me with other things. There are one to two medical professionals running the entire clinic. There's not enough staff or resources to treat the patients like we do in the US.

I nap on and off for the afternoon. A bunch of my co-workers stop by to check in and see how I'm doing. A couple call and to check on me that way. Everyone wishes me a speedy recovery. I feel silly having gotten Malaria even though many people have gotten it since I've been here. There is a brief debate of moving me to Nzara for more care. But I don't feel like I'm up to the drive and okay here as things are. If for some reason I start to get worse I will go there.

I head back to my apartment when it's apparent that I'm going to have to spend the night in the clinic. As previously stated, there's not a lot here. Just a bed. So, I go home and grab my mosquito net, shower, gather clothes and some food. I decided to skip on a pillow. I have sweatshirt in case I get cold and that I will uses a pillow. 

By the time I return to the clinic I am tired. I have started to feel nauseous again and feel worn out. I try and sip some water. I rest and make my bed, except the mosquito net because there are no sticks to pull it up with Vicky has yet to come so I am just hanging out until she arrives which gives me the perfect amount of time to make a nap.

Staff come in to check on me and I doze on and off. Vicky comes back. She can tell I'm not feeling well again. She encourages more food and fluid. I try my best but I'm still struggling. Eventually I have to rush back to the bathroom because my stomach can't handle how much water I've tried to drink. It really wasn't that much but I still am struggling. 

When I return, I tell Vicky that I have once more gotten sick. She advocates for me with the medical team and they decide to hang some extra fluids and some medication for the nausea. The dehydration is a bad side effect. I mean I know I'm still fine. I am only slightly dehydrated but it makes you feel horrible. It's hotter tonight than it was in the morning and I'm also starting to sweat which is making it not as good.

Eventually the care team comes in to hook me up to the IVs and give me more medication. I have been dozing on and off. We joke that I won't be able to sleep at night but I know that's not true. My body is tired and weak and still wants to sleep. So, I rest on and off and half lucidly answered questions. I say goodbye to the daytime care team as they head out for the night and I start to sleep again.

Around midnight I am awakened when new medical personnel come in to give me my next round of medication and another IV. She efficiently adjusts and checks my IV line and provides me with the medication. I'm sure she spoke to me a few times but I have no idea what we discussed. I am definitely exhausted. After she gives me the medications I go back to sleep.

I awake early in the morning. My stomach feels better but not 100%. I am still sick but I feel stronger. I have a slight hunger which is a good sign. And I'm thirsty which I also think is a good sign. My body is still showing signs that it's fighting off this stupid parasite. I make my way to the bathrooms here and start my morning slowly.

When I arrived back to the room Veronica, my boss, is there waiting for me. She brought me some bread and tea. I'm actually feeling up to drinking the tea and eating the bread so that's good. She wanted to check in on me. All day Thursday people from work had come by to see me or had called. On Friday less people came by but I still got some phone calls. And I was okay with that. It was nice to know they cared.

I ate and drink I was able to keep that down. We waited for the care team to round. I was given the go ahead to go back to my apartment until my next injection. We hung out for a little while we waited for the ride. I was brought back to my compound.

The cleaning crew had already started to take care of cleaning my room so any idea of resting was not possible. I was grateful to be back home and to be able to use my own bathroom though. And deciding that I felt that I could try and eat some breakfast I headed to the cafeteria to get food. I actually ate everything and felt good.

While I waited for the time to be for my next injection I worked on some work. I can sit on my veranda and do work. Mostly it consisted of sending emails and answering a few phone calls. I wouldn't say I worked super hard on Friday. Then I made my call to go back to the clinic.

When I get back to the clinic I am brought back to my room where I waited for my next injection. It wasn't a long wait. The clinician is prompt and friendly. The rest of my test results were normal so it seems that it's just the malaria making me sick. He gave me my injection and we chatted briefly.

With the IV injections done I have to be on medication for the next three days. Fortunately, it's all oral medication so that's good. As long as I see progress and stay hydrated, I hope I will not have to come back to the clinic. I am feeling hopeful and saying prayers of gratitude. Malaria can be pretty serious. I am grateful that it wasn't worse and I pray that I continue to get better.

***

The remainder of Friday and Saturday is spent mostly in bed. I am tired and weak. I attempt to eat but plain food is all I can manage. I sleep a lot, going to bed early and sleeping in late. On Saturday I start to feel a bit better, managing some laundry and some other things in my apartment. But I am still moving slow and feeling off.

Sunday, I wake up feeling hungry. I take this as a good sign. I wander to the cafeteria to get breakfast and manage to eat everything. I still feel off and tired but I have a bit more energy. I don’t want to wander too far from my compound but I am up to a bit more stuff. I need to clean and organize my room and go through some things. Little things on Sunday seems like a good plan.

***

Fun fact that I can't remember if I've talked about before but they don't have Western toilets in much of Africa. They have squat potties. If you've never seen one go ahead and Google it. It's an interesting experience. Fortunately, I've used them before getting sick. That's all the hospitals and the clinics here have. It's not the most pleasant experience when you're sick. One of the best parts of going back to my apartment was my bathroom. And the air conditioner. And my bed.

Another fun fact is that throughout my time in the clinic people kept coming in and checking on and talking with Vicky. The idea of patient privacy is something very different here. So, everyone knew I had malaria. And a few of them even made the comment that they wanted me sent to Juba or somewhere else in case something happened to me. I don't think I was ever that sick. However, they were concerned that if something happened to the Khawaja that it would look bad for the Yambio.

People do seem to genuinely care as well. People checked on me day and night, even those who didn't know me but were co-patients to others. It is a different sense of community in that way. Something I have never seen in the US.

Also, the bill was very cheap, under $100 for everything!

While I wish I hadn't gotten sick, I know my experience could have been so much worse.