Typhoid Fever

I can’t say I’ve ever had a fever as bad as this fever.  I’ve written a few blog posts while fighting a fever before, but there was no writing of a post during this one.

Let’s back up a few weeks to the beginning of my bout with typhoid.  Incubation period is usually 1-2 weeks.  I’m not sure when or where I got it.  It could have been anywhere from a hand shake to a fly landing on my food.  Who knows, but I got it.  Feces from someone else who’s gone through what I’ve gone through got in me.  How disgusting!  But that’s not as bad as the 24+ hours that I had the fever.  

Sunday afternoon I was making mango muffins with Sam and I started feeling sick.  Shortly after I could feel my temperature rising.  I could feel something going through my veins.  I started getting chills (a feeling I haven’t felt in a long time) and achy in places, so I laid down.  The kids kept coming in and I kept sending them away.  I kept drifting in and out of sleep.  A few hours later I was achy all over and needing to go to the bathroom all the time.  I'll spare you the details.  I couldn’t just stay in there though, I didn’t have the energy to sit up.  I kept going back in forth with the worst vertigo I’ve ever had.  Thankfully, I had furniture and walls to help keep my balance, sort of, though I never fell.  We have a couple of Malaria tests on hand, so Micah tested me.  Negative.  When I wasn’t in the bathroom I was sleeping.  I slept the most I’ve ever slept for 24 hours minus all the runs to the bathroom.  Too bad I couldn’t enjoy it more.  I couldn’t seem to convince myself that I needed to go to the clinic though.

Thank the Lord, after taking care of the kids for 24 hours straight by himself while monitoring my condition, my husband decided I needed to go to the clinic.  Was it more for him or me?  I’m just kidding, he loves me!  I was a little hesitant to go still.  I didn’t want to pick up any other sickness.  At the same time, I wasn’t sure I could get up and walk around.  I didn’t think I could make the car ride without needing a bathroom.  The clinic is really close to our house, but I didn’t know if they had a bathroom or what the conditions might be.  Shortly after being told we were going, I conceded and hoped for the best.  

We arrived and after asking a few people where to go, we found ourselves in an office  of a lady who was speaking with another young woman and toddler sitting up on a nearby cot.  They weren’t there to be seen though, they were clearly visiting with the lady who in turn was asking us a few questions.  So after, a man came in and asked us more questions.  Around here doctors, nurses, random people sitting in a doctors office, and whomever do not introduce themselves nor do they wear any kind of uniform or badge.  We had no idea who we were talking to, but they were asking us questions and writing in my “carnet”.  There are no files of records here.  Every person who goes to a medical facility is issued their own “carnet” (little book) in which symptoms, diagnosis, lab test results, prescriptions, etc. are written down.  I was checked for malaria again, but it was negative.  He wanted to check my blood for a few other possibilities.

He walked me to the lab to have my blood drawn and tested only to find out the lab was closed for the day.  But the doctor tracked down one of the lab technicians for us.  We watched the technician like a hawk.  Well, I wanted to, but I was a little out of it, so I watched more like a pelican.  I did see the needle was new, but it didn't seem like he put anything on the cotton ball to clean my skin. I hope I’m wrong.  

After the blood test, the doctor asked if I wanted to lay down while we waited for results.  Thank the Lord!  I was so exhausted, achy, sweaty, out of it.  Of course I wanted to lay down.  He took us to a small room with 4 cots in it.  One had someone’s belongings on it.  For just a second I was hesitant about laying down on the cot. Who knows if it was clean or not.  But only for a second, ugh, I was way to exhausted to do anything but lay down.  While we waited, another person came in and laid on another bed.  The results came back and the doctor explained them to Micah.  There are no privacy laws here, others could definitely hear the results. White blood cells- normal, hemoglobin- good, another test for malaria- negative.  Typhoid fever- positive.  Wow!  

Didn’t see that coming.  Of course I didn’t really see much of anything coming.  Micah said they’d have to give me one injection right away, then we’d have to come back in the morning to get another injection.  First, Micah had to go buy the goods from the pharmacy which fortunately is right there on site.  The doctor warned me that I might feel like I need to throw up during the injection.  Oh, great!  It ended up just being a metallic taste in my mouth.  We were done.  We went home for the night.  It wasn’t too long after that when I started to feel much better.  The fever went away and the aches and vertigo weren’t as bad.  I wasn’t quite as delirious as I had been.  It wasn’t until this point that I realized how out of it I was.  

We went in the next morning.  The doctor just happened to be walking in at the same time and he took us straight into the lab to give them my stool sample, even though there was a line- of some sort.  There was hardly anyone there the day before, but they only take stool samples (amidst other samples) between 7 and 8 a.m. followed by handing out the results at 11am, so there were quite a few people there that morning.  He showed me where to go to get the injection.  I was really able to watch this time.  I watched her mix the powder with the water (that came with the powder in a little container that said clean water).  I watched her fill the needle.  I watched her clean my skin.  I watched her stick me.  I watched her push it slowly into my arm.  I watched it all.  And I realized even more how delirious I was the day before.  When she was done, we went home.  We’d have to go back at 11 to find out the results of the stool sample.  Most everyone else just waited the 4 hours around the clinic.  

I didn’t actually go back with Micah to get my results.  He was able to get my results and talk to the doctor without me being there.  That’s when Micah found out he is actually a registered nurse, not a doctor.  Thanks America for having badges!  

None-the-less, I am now feeling much better.  I’m still taking another antibiotic to completely get rid of the typhoid, or so we hope and pray.  I’m not really up for eating much yet.  Although, I have made myself eat one of those mango muffins which Sam I were making oh so long ago.  We are being even more cleanly about things and praying that nobody else in our family gets sick too.  Thank you for your prayers as well.

Thanks to Valerie, a fellow LCMS missionary here, for watching the kids during our trips to the clinic and Bekah for being my go to state-side nurse for questions!  :)

Oh, and for reference, I did take the typhoid vaccine before coming here.  It’s only effective about 48% of the time though.