Happy Anniversary

Before i start, I am alive and well as of now. No permanent damage. I have just been released from the hospital. I was diagnosed with Malaria on Tuesday and had to spend a few days in the hospital to see what was going on. I was having terrible pains in the right side of my stomach. I also had a fever of 102. It all started in the middle of the night Monday so i toughed it out through the night and called the doctor first thing Tuesday morning. She really wanted me to come to Dakar to examine me but there have been insane downpours this week and the road to Dakar is basically non-existent anymore. The PC doctor thought it was too dangerous for me to try and take public transportation all the way to Dakar during all of the rains. Another volunteer tried and his car ended up washing away with several people in it and they ended up having to swim out of the nearby river. Anyway, i was in no shape to head to the garage and attempt to make it to Dakar. The PC doctor told me to go to the hospital in Kaolack. Sooo, i headed out the door in what was basically a monsoon and practically crawled to a taxi crying hysterically like a baby. By the time i made it to the hospital, the town was pretty flooded and i had to wade through water to get in. After arriving, i was taken aside and three women pretty much started stabbing me with needles and not telling me what was going on. It sucked... A LOT. They didnt speak the same language as me but they kept asking me "Why are you crying??" Im sure the reasons for th hysteria are pretty obvious (1. I was in a lot of pain. 2. I was ALONE in the nasty hospital in a foreign country. 3. They were giving me unkown injections and NO ONE would tell me what was going on!!!) but they just couldnt seem to figure it out. After about thirty minutes i broke down and called the PC doctor in Dakar and told her i was about to leave because they wouldnt tell me what they were injecting into me and she called the hospital and had a talk with the doctor. She called me back and basically told me it is Senegalese custom to not tell the patient whats wrong with them or give them any updates of whats going on UNTIL THEY ARE RELEASED!!!!! She convinced me everything was ok so i decided not to sneak out and was later thrown into a back room and sat there alone for the rest of the day having no clue of anything that had happened. I was told i couldnt leave until my fever went down. The next day other volunteers came by to check on me and basically i took the IV out and told them i was leaving. They let me go and told me i had Malaria. I went back to the regional house and waited for a PC car to be sent to get me. I ended up in Dakar early yesterday morning. I have been in the hospital here since. The PC doctor is skeptacle of the results the hospital in kaolack gave me because they told me if their results were accurate, i would be dead. This morning i was sent to have an ultrasound of my liver, intestines, gall bladder, et and the results show that my mid section is inflammed but they have no clue why because all of the other blood tests came back negative. I was told there is nothing they can do for me at the moment and i am just kind of waiting it out. I am continuing the malaria treatments and that seems to be under control and going away. Another volunteer was diagnosed with the same stomach issues this week as well so they are keeping me here over the weekend to be sure that i dont have some sort of virus but everything looks ok at this point. No moer fever and just minor stomach pains. I should be released on Monday.
Thanks for the nice messages from those of you who knew i was here in the hospital. I appreciate them all. Also i would like to address another issue. Many people have responded to this and other med issues by saying "COME HOME." Thats nice that people want whats best for me and want me to come home but i just want to let people know that saying that does not make my life here any easier and i have no intentions of coming home. Illness is a fact of life here and people just learn to deal with it. Malaria is the only illness i have had in the last year that is life threatening and we have more than enough healthcare here provided by PC to deal with that as it comes (i just happened to have really bad luck and get sick during a monsoon). Yes, i realize i have been sort of a magnet for disasters so far but all of the illnesses have come and gone and life goes on. Im not finished with my work here and plan to stay until i feel like i have accomplished everything i came to do. When that happens i will let all of you know :) Until then just keep reading! Ill be sure and post an update early next week to let everyone know how i am doing.

By the way, today is my one year anniversary here. Happy anniversary to the 38 out of 40 of us that came last Sept who are still here.

Also, Happy 18th Birthday Devin! Hope you have a wonderful day! xoxo