Sunday, January 18, 2009

They call it Typhoid FEVER for a reason…

Sunday was a long day at work, longer than usual with lots of things to get done, so work was quick and efficient and we called it quits at about three. Nothing too out of the norm for the day, a slight headache when heading home but after long hours of concentrating in the heat, a headache isn’t really anything too noteworthy. After lunch my head was hurting just a bit more so I decided to lie down for a quick hour nap or so which to be honest, happens pretty frequently here. When I woke up from my nap I was feeling increasingly groggy, so as usual, I headed out on a nice evening walk to wake myself up. Well a half hour into my hour walk I realized that I had chosen to be out for a half hour too long because at my turnaround point, in the middle of nowhere, I was feeling quite light headed, I almost fainted from dizziness a couple of times and I had to take things very slowly in order to get home.

At 6, about the time I got home from my walk I could feel a pretty decent fever settling in so I hopped in a cold shower in hopes of “cooling” myself down after the walk. I managed to crawl into bed by 6:30 but before I could even close my eyes the chills and night sweats were rockin and before I knew it I was in the midst of a pretty gnarly fever…. I’m talking 105 degrees… I’m talking fever induced hallucinations… I’m talking drifting in and out of consciousness…I’m talking the worst headache of my life… I’m talking misery. Four very torturous hours later my fever finally broke (settling at a mild 102) and I was able to drift off into a half sleep/half drug induced slumber for the next 18 hours. When I woke to use the bathroom or to drink water I was so weak I could hardly manage getting out of bed or sitting up… and so went the next three days.

At one point while lying in bed thinking about just how miserable I was I thought “How would I describe how bad this was to someone if they asked me?” and the only answer I could come up with was; ‘Imagine that someone repeatedly beat you in the head and body with a baseball bat until you were unconscious and then the jerk locked you in a Sauna turned up on high. When you regained consciousness, splitting headache included as well as a bit nausea and feeling hotter then you have ever felt before in your life…. That is exactly what having Typhoid Fever feels like.’

So there you have it… now none of you need to get Typoid to find out how bad it really is. Anyhow the damage is done and practically over with by now. I’m still not feeling awesome and I’ll be on Cipro for the next two weeks but I suppose that just like Malaria, it was not a matter of IF but just a matter of WHEN I could add having Typhoid Fever to my list of Been There and Done That in Africa…

-Allison

1 comment:

sophiamarie said...

hey friend! i am sorry about the typhoid fever. that sounds horrible! who was taking care of you?!?! i just read all the updates! i spend christmas away from my family too and it was pretty hard! but u seem like you are holding up ok..! u r working at the lab now?i used to love those microbiology culture thingys we used to do at lab..do u do that? haahaha!! i wish i could come to your new house! : ) anyways, i miss you much...love you...think about you all the time. and i come here to check for updates all the time!! you are my favorite, my hero, i want to be like you when i grow up! i also love the picture..you look as beautiful as always!!!!! je t'aime!!! gros bisous!!!! stay healthy!!!!!!! ;P carola