Infections I've had in Africa

mystery cheesy-looking arm thing: 1
yeast infections: 6 (Thank you, doxycycline!)
staph infections: 2
e.coli: 1
malaria: 1
ringworm: 4
mystery shits: too many to count

I just want to let it be known that I am a very healthy person:

I eat my veggies.
I exercise.
I sleep 8 hours every night.
I get enough sunlight.
I drink so much water it’s ridiculous.
I get enough protein.

I even take a multivitamin!

And still – I’m sick all the time here. In the past month, I have been almost constantly sick. I had malaria and then I was super anemic, because of either the palu or the antibiotics (could do the research, but don’t care enough to find out). As soon as I was getting done with anemia (a week of beans, beans, all the time followed by at least 5 days of beef for lunch), I get e.coli. E. coli was unpleasant, but not the worst, but it made me dehydrated and grumpy and the antibiotics were hell in a handbasket. I had a weird taste in my mouth all the time and felt like puking or passing out fairly regularly.

The day that I finished the antibiotics, I noticed a few bug bites on my arm looked weird. PCMO later told me it was staph. It was really gross-looking (picture shiny pus-filled bread mold on your arm). It hurt all the time. It even hurt, when the breeze from the fan touched it. That too went away after a week of antimicrobial soap, boiled, bleached and filtered water; and scrubbing with a truly evil (and properly sterilized) kitchen sponge.

I was feeling a little down in the mouth this past week, because my house situation has not improved and I think that walking around in a semi-perpetual funk caused me to literally walk under a black cloud and get soaking wet and get a cold.

Today I went to school and thought about staying to grade my exams there, but I decided that swatting at mosquitoes sounded too exhausting, so I came home and hid under my mosquito net. And here I stay, pajamas and blanket on with a low-grade fever and used tissues all around me.

And I know that this too shall pass…

But geez Louise! I am sick of being sick all the time!

Dr. Mendhi told my concerned parents (this is when I had malaria) that when I come back, I will never be sick again, because my immune system will be just that good. I think right now it’s in bootcamp and it sucks. It’s sore all the time. It doesn’t want to do it anymore. There is no light at the end of the tunnel.

Have you ever been in an exercise class and the instructor starts counting down “5…4…3…2.. just 10 more!” I hate that! Tell me when we are actually almost done! Don’t start counting down, until we really only have 5 to go!

I don’t know if in this metaphor, Cameroon is that evil perky instructor/liar or what. What I keep on hoping is that I am just getting all my sick for these two years done in the first 6 months, so that I can just settle in and relax and enjoy my good health for the last 21 months.

Immune system, I appreciate your fine work – keep it up, you can do it, only 21 more months to go.