Sick...

Well, its been a week or two since I have last posted. That is largely due to me just having been really busy in the the past weeks but late this last week everything ground to a halt for me. I woke up last Thursday morning with a sore throat. This is almost always an indication that within 24 hours I will have a cold. So, I was annoyed but not overly concerned. I went to work and did a medical flight to Kasane and back but by the time we returned to Gaborone, it was obvious to me that something more sinister than a cold was at work. I had a pounding headache and my body was really beginning to ache. It really hit me that something was seriously wrong when I realized that I was walking different so that my jeans wouldn't rub on my legs because my skin hurt. I was scheduled to fly a charter to Johannesburg but I decided to call in sick for that flight and go home and lay down. I went home and layed down on the couch where I slept for 6 hours. When I woke up I didn't feel really any better so I took a hot bath and went to bed where I slept for another 12 hours. One would think that 18 hours of sleep in the past 20 or so would make anything better but when I woke up the next morning I felt even worse. My sore throat had become so acute that it was difficult to swallow at all and I had a roaring headache that simply laughed at all the ibuprofen that I threw at it. Midmorning, Alysa dug out our thermometer and took my temperature which turned out to be a searing 102.7. Shortly thereafter my boss called to check on how I was feeling and suggested that if we thought a doctor's visit might be necessary that we should do it before the day was out as medical care largely shuts down here on the weekend. I was a bit reluctant to do that for a number of reasons. One, we don't yet have medical insurance here (something that is getting resolved this week) and we didn't know how much a doctor's visit might cost. And two, I suppose you would call it ego...I was sure that if I gave it another day I would start to feel better. Fortunately, both of those arguments were drowned out in me by fear. Here I was in, not only a new country, but Africa and I was sick. As sick as I have ever felt in my life. Who knew what this might be? Malaria maybe? Or any one of a hundred other unknown African bugs. And this fear was compounded in me by the fact that my fever was now up to 103.1. So we set up an appointment with a South African doctor in town. The doctor was a very pleasant man in his 50s and it took him all of about 37 seconds to tell me what was wrong with me.

The Doctor: "Say Ahhhhhh....."
Me: " AHHHHHHHHH"
The Doctor: (Slight smile) "Again?"
Me: "AHHHHHHHHH"
The Doctor: (Larger smile) "Well young man, you have a rip roaring case of tonsillitis."
Me: (in my head) "Oh thank God its not some exotic African disease!"

Tonsillitis. I don't know that have ever had that before but I know for certain that I don't want it again. Now, I had always thought that one had their tonsils removed if you had tonsillitis but I guess they don't do that anymore except in extreme cases. I was given a course of antibiotics to take, some throat lozenges to help with the pain, and a fever reducer. And thank God, the whole show cost a little less than $80. It took a couple of days but I a feeling very nearly normal now (Monday morning) and the doc said that I ought to be up to full strength again by tomorrow.
It should be noted that my wife was incredible during this whole situation. She waited on me hand and foot, bringing me water, juice, food, more blankets, less blankets, putting in new movies for me, slicing and deseeding my grapes, rubbing my hands, feet, back, and neck, drawing baths for me, and just generally being good company. It is at a time like this that it really becomes clear what an incredible blessing God has made to me of Alysa. She is capable of such tenderness and care. I am very happy that she is my wife.