On Being Sick in Africa

For the most part, my four months in Africa have been pretty healthy. Apart from the first couple of days of sickness when I first arrived and a couple of days of giardia also in the first month, I’ve not had any trouble.

And unfortunately, sickness had to present itself during my sister’s time here. Ugh.

I got sick on Wednesday, but it was a different type of sickness than I’ve ever had. The only symptoms I really had were severe nausea and a general “weak feeling.” But the nausea was to the point of I couldn’t eat. Which is obviously bad.

The first step was ruling out malaria. Which we did. Three times.

Over the course of two days, I visited two clinics and the hospital (which probably sounds extremely over-the-top, but with the crazy diseases that run around here, it's just best to be extremely cautious). It is quite intense to let someone take blood from your arm at a hospital in Gulu, Uganda…definitely brings trusting in God for health and protection to a whole new level!

(For those of you who will worry about the trip to the hospital, I made sure they changed gloves before touching me and I watched them open any needles they used. Plus, the places I went have western-trained doctors and good reputations. Between the two, I was about as safe as possible!)

The first doctor I saw at the hospital was basically a joke. She didn’t really ask any obvious questions and seemed to focus only on “you’re too thin, you must be anorexic,” to which I wanted to say, “I’m here because I’m not eating. The two can’t go together.”

The second doctor was awesome though. I felt fully confident that he knew what he was talking about and he took time to explain the blood test results to me. I am so thankful for him!!

The only thing they ever really determined was that I had a slightly elevated WBC and thus started me on antibiotics (which thankfully were manufactured in the UK).

Sunday I was finally able to eat three small meals and I seem to be getting a little stronger, although I’m still not completely feeling normal.

The hardest thing has probably been that I feel so bad about being sick while Laura is here. She’s been awesome about it though and even went to the village without me on Saturday! She’s also cooked, cleaned, and been a great encourager for me. Plus, with our neighborhood ministry being so fun, she got plenty of time to play with those kiddos too.

Plus, being sick really allowed others to take care of me, which is not something I usually appreciate in any way! Jennifer, at Café Larem, was SO worried about me that she made me take a nap on the couch outside the café. Definitely a little awkward, but it did help! Also, the Foresters let us stay with them a couple nights and were so gracious to feed us, put up with my laying in bed, and offer encouragement and reassurance when I was getting really discouraged. My friend Lowna was also amazing and went with us to the clinic and the hospital. She’s probably the toughest woman I’ve ever met in my life and was a great advocate to have by my side! Finally, the ECM staff have been really kind also. Simon drove us around, Pato went with us to the hospital, and everyone else has just been really encouraging!


Oh, and as of tonight, the neighborhood kids now know the hokey pokey AND the limbo. And the adults still like to stand outside and laugh at us. But, TIA and I’m totally OK with that!! :-)

Also, on a short trip to the market this afternoon, we got to pray over an elderly woman and set up an appointment to share the Gospel with her on Sunday (when we can have a willing translator)!