Not a great week!

Sorry for all the delayed up dates, this week however turned out to be not so great!

We (fellow volunteers and myself) went up to Nkhata Bay again for the weekend and I had some errands to do. I woke on Sunday feeling pretty worse for wear but put it down to a bit of a hangover. We went out at lunch into the town and while sitting to update my blog I started to feel seriously unwell – sweating, nausea etc. It got worse while I tried to eat lunch so I headed back to my room to lie down and try to sleep off what felt like the worlds worst hangover. It didn’t get better – it got worse with aches in my legs and more sweaty and exhaustion. After discussing it with Molly (the American Nurse I am working with) we decided it was probably heat exhaustion/dehydration and a few litres of rehydration salts and a good night’s sleep would cure it. I was wrong. I had the worst night’s sleep I have had in a long time and woke feel pretty much the same. The others returned to Mwaya while Molly and I stayed behind so I could go to the private clinic in Nhkata Bay, which has the ONLY doctor in the entire region. He was a very good doctor actually and I felt quite comfortable with him. They did a malaria test, which was negative, but given my symptoms he diagnosed it as malaria. He explained that being on prophylaxis can give a false negative test results. So I started on anti-malarials and remained in Nhkata Bay. Monday was a very rough day – fevers, body aches and vomiting is not a lot fun, especially in the tropical heat!! The staff at the Nhkata Bay lodge were all amazing – they put us in a private room with a fan and a bathroom and did not charge me for my nights stay. They arranged a car to take me to the hospital as well.

I returned to Mwaya on Tuesday. The organization has a truck and they came to collect me. A 2 hour car ride in the heat did me no favours and I had a fever again that evening. After some educated discussion with Molly and reading through our books, I decided to start myself on antibiotics just in case and decided to go the hospital again in the morning. I was taken to a private hospital in Dwangwa – not an experience I would ever want to repeat. There they did another malaria test (which was negative) and checked my blood. I was told again it was malaria and I should feel better on Thursday. After another fever that night, Thursday rolled around ok and the fevers stopped. Since then I have only been on the mend and am now feeling almost 100% better. My appetite had returned and I have more energy but still feel a bit tired. But I am completely on the mend. The experience has shaken me a bit – realizing how easy it is to get sick and being far from medical care but I am feeling a bit more confident again now I am feeling better.

Visiting the hospital in Dwangwa though bought out some racial based issues. We were the only white people there and there was a massive line of people waiting to be seen and waiting for the pharmacy. As soon as I arrived however they put me ahead of everyone and saw me immediately and dispensed my medications first. I am not sure if it had to do with the fact that I was white but it definitely felt that way.

We had a really quiet weekend here at the beach, which included a massive thunder storm – probably the loudest thunder I have ever heard and the strength of the rain is incredible.

Today was my first day back at ‘work’. I went back to the health clinic and forgot how I actually find it quite depressing to be there. It may sound like a terrible thing to say but it is the truth – seeing such basic health care is hard. I helped out in the wound clinic. The only thing to do is clean the wound with anti-septic and cover it with wrapped gauze – they have no other supplies. I had to cut up the gauze used to wrap in order to have gauze to clean with. The water used to dilute down the anti-septic comes from a bucket of water in the corner – god only knows how clean it is. But as there is no running water so there are not very many options. A lot of the wounds are burns or what look like machete wounds from working in the fields and most already look infected.

I am trying to do as many bits and pieces as I can around there, which now include packing pills in the dispensary into little baggies. I don’t think I ever what to be a pharmacist!!

I went up to the local library today to get another book out. The only positive of being sick is being able to indulge in reading. The library in the village here is amazing. I wish I could describe it in away to do it justice. The Mwaya primary school and library is a RIPPLE Africa initiative and funded. The library is run but a local gentleman and it is a dearly loved project. It is a tiny little circular building but everything is perfectly organized and put away and they have a good fiction selection of books left by old volunteers. They need more reference books however for students so if anyone has any old texts etc. lying around, let me know and I’ll arrange to send them down!

Now I am back at Mwaya writing this up, waiting for our weekly vegetable delivery – it comes from about 2 hours away. Otherwise it will just be beans and rice for dinner. BUT papaya is in season here so every morning we get fresh papaya which is delicious!

xxx