Let me catch some of you up: On Tuesday I started feeling pretty rough. Wednesday I was not getting any better so we started a Malaria med. Thursday, I was supposed to leave at 10:00 AM to make the 4 hour drive to the airport and catch my 11:30 PM flight. Brenda suggested I go back to the clinic and get another Malaria test and a Typhoid test - just to be careful. Well, this time the Malaria was negative but the Typhoid was positive!
Q: How can I get Malaria AND Typhoid in the same month?
A: I am just a LUCKY, LUCKY GIRL!
Well, I couldn't start the med for Typhoid right off because I still had the malaria meds in my system and the combination of the two could cause SUDDEN DEATH. (The warning was just like that on the website, in red and caps - it got my attention) I had to wait 12 hours to begin treatment.
In the meantime, I traveled to Kampala - Brenda came with me which was such a blessing. We ate a snack and they got back on the road to head back to Busia.
I was alone. Trying to make the most of it but feeling awful. Mom was calling every few hours checking on me. I was so relieved to get on that plane and take off for Amsterdam. That was my goal, thinking "Europe has great medical facilities, I just need to make it there and I will be fine." God blessed me and gave me two seats to lie down it and sleep the entire 9 hour flight. I arrived in Amsterdam and was relieved to see that I only had a two hour layover! Another blessing - usually it is at least 6 hours!
I made the next flight, counting the hours til I landed, got through customs and immigration. There waiting for me was Mom and Dad. Another blessing! Mom's greeting was "Hey, you look so tall." Not what I was expecting, but ok.
I was still not feeling much better on Sunday morning so Mom went to church, then came home and she and Lisa took me to the ER. The nurse made me wear a mask and put me in the isolation, zero pressure room they use for highly contagious patients. The doctor laughed because she knew that Typhoid is NOT an airborne disease. Another blessing! - I got a doctor who was very experienced and knew how to treat Typhoid. My nurse said they asked him when he walked in what he knew about typhoid - he doesn't know anything and admitted it to me as he was putting in my IV (he did know how to put in an IV though) Apparently typhoid was one of the more interesting cases yesterday and all the nurses were discussing it.
The doctor gave me an IV of Rosephen. They said that sometimes Typhoid could be resistant to Cipro. The doctor also gave me some stronger pain medicine for the headaches - Tylenol and Ibuprofen were not even touching it.
Today, Monday, I am feeling better, the headache is much more manageable and I feel stronger than I have felt all week. I have promised my parents to lay low and rest.
Right now, I am still planning to return to Bolivia on Thursday, the 11th - given that I continue to improve.
Thank you for all your prayers, calls and concerns. I really do appreciate them.
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