Today is World Malaria Day. As the Malaria Activities Coordinator for Mozambique, this is a special day for me. Volunteers all over the country are doing activities today and blogging about malaria!
But today, I'm not blogging about happy, fun malaria prevention work.
Today, I'm blogging about the time I got malaria.
Since my year long hiatus from blogging, a lot has happened. Including a bout with malaria - malaria that went untreated for 3 days! 3 DAYS! If you know nothing about malaria, just know this: that is SERIOUS! You almost lost me, people.
Here's how it started:
I returned to my site after a fun-fillled cross country trip to two of the most beautiful beach towns in Mozambique: Tofo and Vilanculos. I spent a week in the Inhambane province where these beaches are located, soaking up the sun, hanging with friends and NOT taking my malaria prophylaxis (shhh...dont tell PC....but yes, this malaria was all my fault!)
A few days after I returned, I was at my organization talking to some of my co-workers and I felt kinda...off. My co-workers noticed that I didn't seem 100%, and said that since it was Friday, I should just go home and rest. I thought that was the best suggestion ever, since all I wanted to do was lay down.
On my way home, I knew something was wrong. Not only was I super tired and lethargic, but the joints in my knees were sore for some reason. But what really had me worried was the fact that I was walking home, the sun was beaming down onto me, and for some strange reason, I was...cold. COLD? I thought to myself "I should be hot right now...this is a problem." I made it home and collapsed onto my bed. About an hour later I was shivering uncontrollably. I took my temperature. 101F. Definiitely a fever. I took some Tylenol and called Peace Corps. Unfortunately, all of the PC doctors were at a conference in South Africa. I reached the stand in medical officer, who told me to take a rapid test. I did. It came out negative. He told me to continue taking Tylenol and to watch my fever, which had gone down by then, and I was no longer shaking uncontrollably. But then I realized that my rapid test was pretty close to expiring. And had been stored for quite some time in my super hot, tin roof having house. Not good. PC has a rule that you dont take your malaria meds until you have confirmed malaria. I got symptoms on a Friday, and had a negative rapid test. No treatment for me! I waited.
The next day, I felt a bit better. I woke up with a normal temperature, but I had no appetite. The doctor called to check on me, and I was fine. I still wanted to get a malaria test done at the hospital. My friend came over to walk with me to the local hospital to get a blood smear done. We get to the hospital, and guess what? The lab technician isnt there. It's a Saturday, the lab is closed on the weekend, so no blood smear for me! I met with the on duty "technico", which is the guy who was seeing patients that day, kinda like a nurse. He told me that the rapid tests are way more sensitive than the equipment at the hospital and that if I had a negative rapid test, then it definitely wasnt malaria. On my way home, my joints started aching again. My friend forced me to buy some juice, since I hadnt eaten at all since Thursday. I went home and got into bed. Then, it started again. The shaking. This time more violent than before. I was so cold. My fever shot up again. After maybe an hour of this, I finally calmed down, got really hot, and fell asleep with my sheets soaked in my sweat. There was a constant cycle over the next night and day. Feeling ok, then aching, then violent shakes and cold, then extreme hot and sweating, each cycle was worse than the last. My fever at one point reached 104F. My pee was a weird orange color. My landlord's wife was basically force-feeding me. Everyone was worried. A friend, who is a nurse, gave me some medicine to keep my fever at bay and kep telling me "This sounds like malaria, Kyla. I think you should just treat it" But the rule follower that I am, I waited until I had a confirmed case. Another friend of mine, a missionary who is also a nurse had been regularly checking in on me. On Sunday night, as I was under my blanket shivering so hard I could barely talk through the chattering of my teeth, she told me to go first thing in the morning to the hospital and get a Complete Blood Count. She wanted me to get the report and read her the numbers, because she was worried that I picked up some "nasty virus" on my travels and probably needed anti-biotics. The next day, Monday morning, my friend came over again and accompanied me to the hospital. I was weak. I had barely eaten since last Thursday, and I was so unbelievably sick. But we made it. The lab tech was there (thankfully!) and I told him I needed the blood test. He drew my blood, and I came back an hour later and asked for the report.
"Hi, I'm back to get the complete blood count report"
"Oh yeah", he replied. He grabbed a piece of paper "Is this what you wanted? I finished it, you can take this if you want to, but you have malaria. But here, take the paper"
There it was. Confirmed malaria. I called the stand-in PC doctor and told him. He advised me to start my treatment. Coartem. 24pills in 3 days. By day 2 I felt almost normal again. After I finished the treatment, I was back on my feet as if nothing had ever happened.
I have the luxury of recieving prophylaxis from Peace Corps. Most other people have no form of prophylaxis at all. I'm a healthy, strong adult, and I was pretty much confined to my bed for 3 days. Malaria happens to children, babies, adults, the ederly...and some people don't have the strength or the resources to fight it off like I did. I got lucky. over 600,000 people per year are not so lucky.
How will you Stomp Out Malaria in 2013? Visit www.stompoutmalaria.org for more info.
Malaria Matters
Wow...long time right?
So much has happened since I've last posted. I'm now a 3rd year extendee. I've moved closer to the capital. I've grown and changed immensely as a person. Mozambique has become my home.
I'm also now the National Malaria Activities Coordinator for Peace Corps' Stomping Out Malaria in Africa Initiative. Which is the reason for this post.
I've been in this country for almost 3 years (WHOA!). Before I came here, the word "malaria" hardly had a meaning to me. I knew nothing about it. But since living here, I've seen numerous people sick with malaria, known people who have died from malaria, know people who dont really care about malaria, have even gotten malaria myself, and I now work to coordinate all volunteer activities related to malaria. This disease has now become a part of my daily life.
The thing about malaria is that it isnt necessarily this big, huge scary disease that means an automatic death sentence, like some scary ancient plague. Yeah, it is the same disease that killed Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and continues to kill just under 800,000 people per year worldwide. In Moz, it is the leading cause of death of children under 5 and is the #1 reason for hospital visits. BUT--thanks to modern medicine, it is preventable and treatable. Mosquito nets save lives. Actually - TREATED mosquito nets save lives. I slept under a non-treated net and mosquitoes bit me though the net. A week later I had a fever of 104. Luckily, there are Rapid Diagnostic Tests (which quickly diagnosed my malaria) and Coartem (a combination therapy treatment where you take like 24 pills over 3 days to get rid of the parasites having a party in your bloodstream/liver). Those things saved my life.
Anyway, the issue with malaria is getting people to sleep under nets, to realize that malaria is really a big deal (a lot of times, people get it and think it's just a way of life. Some people build up an "immunity" so their symptoms aren't as pronounced and they go to the hospital, get the treatment and are back on their feet the next day), to get tested at the FIRST sign of malaria infection and to take all of their treatment and don't stop when they start to feel better. That's where Peace Corps comes in. Peace Corps Volunteers work at the community level, and have direct access to the people. Since we're often trusted community members, we can easily share information and encourage behavior change. We can rally community leaders to encourage members to stop using nets to fish and to start sleeping under them. We can accompany our neighbors to the hospital when they have a fever to get a test done. We can help explain how to properly take medication, because many times hospitals don't explain things in a way that people understand. So involving Peace Corps Volunteers in the fight against malaria in Africa is ideal. And that's what is so great about the Stomp Out Malaria initiative. It doesnt ALWAYS work, but getting people to change their habits is never easy. TRYING is always better than doing nothing.
How can the average American help? Well, being informed is a start! Support our projects, Like our facebook page, follow the blogs and the twitter, stay aware of whats happening with Stomp Out Malaria. Awareness is the first step!
How will you stomp out malaria in 2013?
So much has happened since I've last posted. I'm now a 3rd year extendee. I've moved closer to the capital. I've grown and changed immensely as a person. Mozambique has become my home.
I'm also now the National Malaria Activities Coordinator for Peace Corps' Stomping Out Malaria in Africa Initiative. Which is the reason for this post.
I've been in this country for almost 3 years (WHOA!). Before I came here, the word "malaria" hardly had a meaning to me. I knew nothing about it. But since living here, I've seen numerous people sick with malaria, known people who have died from malaria, know people who dont really care about malaria, have even gotten malaria myself, and I now work to coordinate all volunteer activities related to malaria. This disease has now become a part of my daily life.
The thing about malaria is that it isnt necessarily this big, huge scary disease that means an automatic death sentence, like some scary ancient plague. Yeah, it is the same disease that killed Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and continues to kill just under 800,000 people per year worldwide. In Moz, it is the leading cause of death of children under 5 and is the #1 reason for hospital visits. BUT--thanks to modern medicine, it is preventable and treatable. Mosquito nets save lives. Actually - TREATED mosquito nets save lives. I slept under a non-treated net and mosquitoes bit me though the net. A week later I had a fever of 104. Luckily, there are Rapid Diagnostic Tests (which quickly diagnosed my malaria) and Coartem (a combination therapy treatment where you take like 24 pills over 3 days to get rid of the parasites having a party in your bloodstream/liver). Those things saved my life.
Anyway, the issue with malaria is getting people to sleep under nets, to realize that malaria is really a big deal (a lot of times, people get it and think it's just a way of life. Some people build up an "immunity" so their symptoms aren't as pronounced and they go to the hospital, get the treatment and are back on their feet the next day), to get tested at the FIRST sign of malaria infection and to take all of their treatment and don't stop when they start to feel better. That's where Peace Corps comes in. Peace Corps Volunteers work at the community level, and have direct access to the people. Since we're often trusted community members, we can easily share information and encourage behavior change. We can rally community leaders to encourage members to stop using nets to fish and to start sleeping under them. We can accompany our neighbors to the hospital when they have a fever to get a test done. We can help explain how to properly take medication, because many times hospitals don't explain things in a way that people understand. So involving Peace Corps Volunteers in the fight against malaria in Africa is ideal. And that's what is so great about the Stomp Out Malaria initiative. It doesnt ALWAYS work, but getting people to change their habits is never easy. TRYING is always better than doing nothing.
How can the average American help? Well, being informed is a start! Support our projects, Like our facebook page, follow the blogs and the twitter, stay aware of whats happening with Stomp Out Malaria. Awareness is the first step!
How will you stomp out malaria in 2013?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)