September

Laughing out loud I will create my own destiny. Singing in the wind I will forge the river and be louder than the storm that howls about me. ~ S. Stauter

….

I know there are a lot of people out there who have been worried about me this past month. I thank you for all your thoughts and prayers! Here’s a quick summary of what happened:

On the 6th of September (the day before Term 3 started) I had a seizure in my sleep. Peace Corps flew me from Nairobi to Malindi. On Monday I met with a doctor at Nairobi Hospital. Tuesday (my 26th birthday) I had an MRI and went back to the hotel for a nap. When I woke up I had a fever of 101. Peace Corps took me to the hospital and I was admitted. They did a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to make sure I didn’t have meningitis. Tests showed I had an infection somewhere but they never were able to figure out what it was. I was put on antibiotics for the infection. I couldn’t get out of bed because the spinal tap caused me to have terrible headaches. Slowly during the week I was able to walk more and more. I was discharged on the 15th and given some pain killers to use when needed. Back at the hotel the headaches were bad enough that I couldn’t get out of bed and other volunteers needed to bring me take-out. I was counting down the hours so that I could take more drugs. On the 20th I was readmitted to the hospital and put on fluids and steroids. On the 25th I felt good enough to be discharged again. I spent a week in the hotel and then had a check up on Oct 2nd and was given permission to go back to Malindi.

Since the fever didn’t start until later they aren’t really sure if the infection is what caused the seizure or not. They also changed the malaria prophylaxis I was taking just in case my body had an adverse reaction.

But I’m healthy now! After 3 weeks stuck in bed, I have some strength to gain back. And I still need to avoid doing too much in the Malindi heat but I’m beyond happy to be back at site and going to school to see my kids tomorrow!

Thank you to all the volunteers who went out of their way to visit me in the hospital!!! All the concerned texts, phone calls and emails were much appreciated!!!