Archive for November 28th, 2009
Health Update
Malaria 1, Cameron 0
I went to get tested for malaria this morning because I started feeling a bit ill. I went to this shady little clinic in the town center because the Anglican clinic where Dr. Jim and Dr. Ruth work is a bit far out of town and they get very busy. Luckily there was nobody in line at the clinic so I was in and out.
The health standards at this place were not the greatest. The “doctor” who pricked my finger wasn’t wearing any gloves and probably didn’t have any in the entire place and I’m sure the slide he wiped my blood on had been used a few hundred times before. But I had the results in about 10 minutes. My count is 2 parasites (which roughly means 2 parasites per 500 blood cells.) I then went out to Ruth’s clinic to get medicine to make sure I got what I needed. She absolutely loaded me down with pills. She has doubled my daily doxycycline dosage, and I am taking 8 Coartem and 4 of some other drug daily. Hopefully it will get knocked out quickly.
Tanya is counting her blessings and hoping that the odds are in her favor. We counted that 60% of us volunteers have had malaria thus far (and Dr. Ruth predicted 60% during our first week), so Tanya is hoping she will be spared.
Most of the other non-Tanzanian’s in Tabora are working for the tobacco companies, so we naturally hang out with them at the Orion Hotel on weekends. Last Sunday we were invited to one of their BBQ’s. One of the guys is from Brazil, so he put on a huge Brazillian style churrasco feast. He built a makeshift slow roaster out of bricks and put charcoal down in it. The skewers of meat laid on top across to coals to slow cook. He must have cooked 10 or more huge skewers of pork, beef and sausage as well as potato salad, fruit, and fresh vegetable salad. We ate meat and more meat and drank beer from about 2 pm to 8 pm until we all had meat sweats and were ready to go into a food coma. It was a great time and we all over ate and over drank but luckily we ate enough to keep the beer at bay.
I am definitely with Tanya on feeling like our time here has gone by too fast and our work here feels unfinished as we are leaving in about a week. I need some time to relax on the beach and recharge, but I would certainly be up for staying and working with the Japanese team when they come in a few months to complete the report…but I need to get back on the payroll and I really miss taking a shower.
