#152 Shanksteps- Malaria
Day 1: Today is Friday. Greg was called away to a meeting Monday- Wednesday so I was left to “hold down the fort”. It truly wasn’t too bad; there were no surgeries; I was able to sleep for 8 hours during the 3 days. I took Thursday off to “recuperate”, so why do I feel sooooo tired. MALARIA. And I thought my stomach hurt because I was drinking too much coffee. Again: MALARIA. That dizzy spell I had on Monday in the middle of clinic that I thought was due to not drinking enough water. MALARIA. The nightmares and difficulty sleeping – could it be due to stress or…MALARIA. I mentioned something to Eliza today and she said that I ought to get tested. Afterall, the test is free and the lab was on my way from the Peds ward to the Clinic. So, after telling the lab tech to take my blood, but not expect to find anything, was I surprised to find MALARIA? Plasmodium Falciparium! So, that’s why I’ve been feeling to crummy lately.
Since I feel like I’m going to die every time I take Quinine, Greg thought it would be educational (funny) if I kept a malaria journal for the next 7 days and explained to all of you what I was experiencing. So, welcome to my world of malaria and quinine.