It started with a sore throat...

It started with a sore throat – which I logically assumed was the result of yelling at my students all day. That night I had a fever of 100.2 degrees, but considering my room itself was 92 degrees I didn’t think much of it. One of my friends insisted over my stubborn refusals that I take a malaria test. I have been joking that I kind of want to contract malaria while I’m here. Just a small case. For bragging rights. So, even though I was convinced it was just the flu, I agreed to go. The clinic in Ghana we usually go to was closed, but she had heard of a lab on camp run, so we decided to check it out. We walked for a few minutes and came upon a small blue house with the words “medical laboratory” painted on it in fading white letters. We knocked on the door and a man in pajamas answered rubbing his eyes and putting on his glasses – the head doctor and supervisor of the operation, Gabriel. He is a kind, articulate and intelligent man who was a doctor in Monrovia before the war. His house/lab/school had a few posters about HIV prevention, some boxes with various lab tests and was sparsely furnished with a table, chair and bench. One poster had the costs of his many tests – this included about a dollar for a malaria test, the same for STIs and no charge for HIV/AIDs. He explained that he also ran a school to train fellow refugees and offered lab tests at a reduced cost because of the need on camp. He is entirely self-supported and not currently getting funding from anywhere. He had a letter written for us to distribute about his school and lab in case we knew of any potential donor organizations. If any of you can help me think of an organization that would help with medical supplies or money, please let me know!

We explained that I wanted to get tested for malaria, and he promptly sent someone out for fresh needles. We met them over at the next house – which contains the actual lab equipment. He unwrapped the needle, pricked my finger and wiped it on a glass slide. He showed us the microscope he would use to analyze my blood. It was reminiscent of the kind we had in 6th grade biology class – could have been the exact model. He explained that he would have to use the manual microscope (not the electric one) because there was no electricity. He would also have to wait for the blood to dry (no electric dryer) to run the test. Even with his limited technology, I would have the results in 30 minutes and for under $1.50!

So, when we returned, he informed me that I do in fact have malaria! The most common type – falciparium – and also the most serious if you leave it untreated. Fortunately, the level of severity was low and I am now treating it with drugs. So, I can now join the ranks travel-weary malaria sufferers. It’s probably not worth the bragging rights. My joints are really achy and having a fever in this heat is no picnic. But I’m lucky that my case is not that severe. Others here have had it really bad. I haven’t even had an upset stomach, but that is what is so difficult about malaria – the symptoms are really variable and it can be hard to diagnosis without a test. But if you let it go too long, it can be very dangerous. A good deal of the volunteers here have come down with malaria. But we are all on anti-malarial medicine! It turns out that the preventive drugs we all take religiously do not prevent anything. They actually just reduce the symptoms if you do contract malaria. The best thing is to avoid mosquito bites, but those little buggers just love me no matter how much garlic I eat and how much deet I poison my body with. The mosquitoes here are different from anywhere I’ve been. I actually don’t think I’ve ever seen one here. They are tiny and stealth. They are so small they don’t even buzz in your ear. But they do bite. And apparently carry malaria.