Yeah, I had malaria. It was no big deal.

So, it’s been a while since I’ve made a posting, but it’s for a really good reason.  Honest!  Last month, after flying back from Nairobi to Khartoum, I fell ill.  At the time, it seeemed like nothing to really get all het up about — just tired, fever and a huge need to rest.  I blamed Nairobi Hotels for not putting heat into their rooms as it got really cold at night and my feet were constantly numb with cold.  Nothing reduces the immune system like being cold.

Anyway, after a number of days sucking down antibiotics and decidedly NOT feeling better, I had my office help me get to a good clinic in Khartoum and see a doctor.  Imagine my surprise when she tucked me into a room and started and IV in about 2.4 seconds.  She exclaimed that I was very jaundiced (I never saw the yellow!) and that I had malaria — and pretty badly as well.  Treatment started with shots in my ass (oh FUN)iiu and tons of liquid pushed through various veins in my arms and hands — I felt like a total junky as new veins were looked for as needle holes ran out.  Eventually, I was sent to Nairobi to the BIG hostpital where they could do much much more in the way of blood transfusions and the like, should it have proven necessary.  Fortunately, it did not, but I guess one never knows.  For several days, I was just so amazingly week it was silly.  I’d get out of breath walking across the room!  But, each day that I got shots in the butt, I felt amazingly better.  It didn’t take long until I was VERY bored of hospitals, getting worken up in the middle of the night by the bloodsuckers that needed fresh blood for labs (what IS that about — why can’t they do it in the afternoon!!!), bad food and bad TV.  Thank goodness for the care pack my sister had sent me without anticipating I’d need it for entertainment in the hostpital!

A lot of folks have been asking me about what malaria really is — it seems that a lot of people forgot their High School Biology lectures on VECTORS OF DISEASE.  I always rememeber that this is the classic example of disease vectors.  Mosquitos pass on the disease without being part of the diseason.  At lot like Miss Typhoid Mary (another High School Biology lecture which I do not intend to get into here…).  Anyway, malaria is actually quite complicated, but here’s a picture that may help:

Life Cycle of Malaria

The most important thing to take away from this is that the liver is where the little critters ‘grow’ and then they leave the liver and invade red blood cells where they grow again and then burst out of the blood cells.  Hence, the tiredness.

I can’t say that I felt as sick as everyone was telling me I was.  I was just really tired and wanted to sleep a lot and NOT MOVE.  Just too much energy in rolling over in bed.

I am indeed glad it’s all over — I am not resting at the family estate in Virginia — and I don’t want to repeat this experience.  But, it will always be a good story — being medically evacuated from any country is always going to sound impressive.  Even, if it’s really not.

Coming soon — my impressions of the USA since I’ve left it.  They are really not all good.