When I arrived in Chiang Mai I had made up my mind that my month in Thailand was going to be awesome, one of the best months of the race. I was determined. I set new goals to be more generous with my time and my resources. I was going to read reverently through the Bible. I was going to learn how to better hear the voice of God.
It took us over 30 hours in 3 different vans to get from Penang, Malaysia to Chiang Mai, Thailand. The first van got booked the night before and it took us from Penang to Hai Yai just beyond the Malaysia-Thai border. The second two vans we just showed up and prayed we’d find a driver. In Hai Yai we found someone willing to drive us to Bangkok, Thailand. We arrived in Bangkok a little after 1am at an abandoned bus station. An hour later we found a few drivers who agreed to take us the rest of the way. It was wild. At one point I slept on the floor of the van on my yoga mat. My body ached and I had an odd headache.
My first few days in Chiang Mai my body was all out of sorts, but I chalked it up to the long car ride. But one Tuesday afternoon my body started to heat up until it reached 103 degrees. By evening time Sara peeled my boiling body out of my bed and made me take a songthaew (pronounced ‘song-tough’ aka a thai taxi) to the hospital. Thankfully Thai hospitals are super nice. The first doctor I saw told me I had meningitis but I would need a spinal tap and a CT scan to confirm. My eyes were so big with shock. I wasn’t too keen on having a spinal tap… the neurologist suggested some blood tests and they came back positive for Typhus. Apparently Typhus is a jungle fever you get from being bitten by a flee, chigger, or tick. Without antibiotics it can be deadly. But in this area of the world its pretty common place and they know how to treat it.
I was sent home with a few handfuls of antibiotics and told to ride it out. Tee sat with me for several days while I mumbled incoherently. She read me some Bob Goff, which I loved but fell asleep to. Tee sat at my bedside for days.
Sara brought me some Thai acetaminophen, lovingly called “Sara” in Thailand. I had the worst headache I’ve ever had. By Thursday night at 2am I thought my brain was going to explode. After googling all the ways I could be dying my friend Micaela promptly took me back to the ER on Friday. I got that CT scan. My brain was fine, “beautiful with great ventricles” the neurologist remarked.
In no less than 4 days I went from slightly sick to massively sick. My golden goals for the month were out the window, and I felt like God was far off. I wanted Thailand to be the best month, but getting sick was a wrench in my plans. I had to rely on other people to have my back. I felt very low, trapped in a sick body when there was so much life to experience.
But at the end of 4 days the antibiotics kicked Typhus out of my body. When I think about it, how fast I got better I know God had His hand in it. After I got out of the hospital the second time on Friday afternoon I felt like my body did a U-turn and I was becoming myself again. My team had planned to go see the elephants on Saturday and I was determined to go. And by the grace of God I went. I wasn’t 100% better, but I think God gave me a little boost to get to see those majestic elephants. And seeing them lifted my spirit in a way no more bedrest could.
I learned you can’t control everything, or anything really. And this month has been so good, just not in the ways I was initially hoping for. Missing three days of ministry inspired me to put myself out there in more bold ways. It made me even more grateful for each day’s interaction. Tee and I grew in our friendship. And I know I will walk away from the world race with some amazing friends who will relentlessly fight for me even when I’m being stubborn. (You know who you are.) I learned God rides out the storms with us. It might not always seem like it, but He surrounds you, He lifts you up, always.
Check out my video of the elephants here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WAQyLDvv7k
