It all started in Swaziland with a little thing called “Tick Bite Fever (TBF).” When I say “it” I mean my first World Race field trip to the local clinic.
When you sign up for the race, you expect to experience different parts of the local culture- their food, people, language, markets, schools, banks. I have been given the great privilege of getting to experience all these things, but I have also managed to take a world tour of medical clinics.
My visit to the East Manila Medical Center earlier today officially marked the third country in a row in which I have had to see a doctor. (At home I never go to the doctor)
This is a quick review of my WR medical history.*
Swaziland- TBF. (And then I had a little scratch on my finger from cutting Impala meat that turned into an oozing finger. This lasted until half way through Botswana.)
Botswana was a relatively healthy month, my only issue was constant throat pain caused by what doctors all over the world like to call “the largest tonsils they have ever seen in a 22 year old!” Which is intersting since on the race I haven’t gone to the doctor for my tonsils, they just always get found.
In Cambodia one of the orphans put her earring in my second earring hole. It was in my ear all of 20 seconds, but somehow it managed to become slightly infected. Then it spread to my glands, and some how it worked its way into my other ear. After a month of people asking me what was wrong with my ears, I was considering the need to take antibiotics when I had my spider bite insistent.
The spider bite incident sent me to a doctor in Bangkok.
I was still limping when we walked off the plane in Hong Kong. That slowly got better, but then I spent the second half of my month in China sick to my stomach. The stomach problems lasted until the day before we got back to Hong Kong, but then in Hong Kong I came down with a horrid congested cough and a 102F fever. This landing me in the doctor’s office begging for pain medicine. They gave me medicine, but only after I convinced them that I had not been around chicken feathers.
I spent Christmas resting and recovering for the congested fever stuff when I decided that I felt well enough to go snorkeling. The snorkeling was amazing, but my flippers cut the back of my heel. No big deal, right? No big deal unless the cut gets infected, and a week later you wake up and realize that despite daily cleaning your left foot is now the color of a tomato and twice the size of your right foot. This landed me back at the clinic begging for antibiotics, and hope that I wasn’t going to loose my foot.
Did I mention that I have a giant back bruise from when I fell down a flight of stairs a couple days ago?
Now why am I writing all this?
Is it because I want attention and sympathy?
Is it because I like complaining?
Is it because I want the world to be able to google my 2007 medical history?
No, I am sharing because I have a dream of going the rest of the WR without any more infectious incidents.
My teammates have prayed for me. My squad mates have laid hands me. I have confessed lots sin, but I still can’t go a day without having something wrong with me.
Now I know that there are a lot of people all over the world that live with serous illnesses. I know that infected fingers, tonsils, ears, bowels, and feet aren’t a big deal.
But I would just like to get the most out of the last half of the world race, and I am tired of my feet/ ears/ stomach/ other miscellaneous body parts getting in the way.
Bottom line: Please pray for my health. It would make me very happy to be completely well. Thank you for doing this for me.
I did consider adding pictures to this blog, but for your stomach’s sake, I resisted.
*For the record, I do bathe, clean my wounds, hydrate, and try to eat green, leafy foods with vitamins.
