Monday, May 31, 2010

On having malaria

So, I got malaria. I kind of knew this day would come sooner or later. I've opted not to take the anti-malarial medication that many short-termers take when visiting a country like Haiti. When you get malaria, you just have to take those drugs anyways to treat it.

It started last Sunday morning when I woke up with a severe headache and muscle aches. At first, we thought it was just extreme dehydration, but when I got a fever that evening, Dr. Manno decided it was most likely malaria. He did a blood test for it on Tuesday, however it came back negative as it's only accurate if you take the blood while you have a fever. Anyways, I started taking doxicyclin to treat it and by Wednesday my fever was gone!

So for the past week i've been secluded to my home watching Matlock reruns and a show called Burn Notice (thank goodness the house is hooked up to the clinic generator so we have power during the day). To be honest, I've been going a little nutty. Today is the 2nd time in a week I"ve been out of the house. I tried to come out on Friday, but I got really tired after so decided to wait awhile before I went again.

The Dr has ordered me not to work this week, so sad. But I do need to check on a few things. I'll do my best to rest, I promise!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Watching Matlock will make a person nutty. :-)

Seriously, I'm praying for you. Hope we can "talk" soon.

Grace and peace,
Stan

jenny said...

Get better soon, Janelle! We should meet up at Folk Fest next month! Looks like I'll be there on the Friday only, since they haven't called me back about volunteering.

Janelle said...

I'm feeling a lot better. woohoo!
Jenny - Let's for sure meet up. If not on Friday, I'll try to come into the office on Wednesday or Thursday for a visit!

Micah D.L. said...

not the point of this post, I know, but Burn Notice is one of our favorite shows! I love it!!!

Prayers for quick healing and safety...my brother caught hep A working in India last year so I know how hard this can get...stay strong!