Less than 3 weeks to go...

...I got malaria.

The cynical part of me sort of feels like it was bound to happen. The other part of me is pretty disappointed that after four successful, healthy months, I couldn't hold it together for three more weeks. We'd only had two interns come down with malaria before midterm retreat, and I thought it was going to be a record low for malaria cases this summer. Then, Monday happened. We had three confirmed cases of malaria on Monday, myself included. Another one yesterday, and a fifth today, making five cases of malaria over the span of four days. Unreal.

I woke up on Monday not feeling super great, but just attributed it to a busy weekend (and a very long run on Saturday). I dragged myself out of bed, went on a quick run, and went in to work, still not feeling great. I had decided over the weekend that Monday was to be the day I would handle my flight change for later this month. Skype allows free calls to 1-800 numbers, so after 90 minutes on the phone with a nice lady from Delta, I had a new flight (leaving Kenya August 22nd!). I also had a headache. I don't normally get headaches; usually it's a sign I'm dehydrated, so I drank a bunch of water, handled some emails, and when it still didn't improve, I went to nap on the couch. The headache didn't go away, and by the end of the day, I'd decided to go to the doctor.

Thankfully, there is probably no better place to have malaria. Because it is so common in this part of Kenya, it took all of five minutes in the doctor's office and I had confirmation; another five minutes (and the equivalent of $7), and I had my medicine and was on my way. Each of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I took one of the biggest pills I've ever seen (honestly, the size of my pinky from tip to smallest knuckle). Within a couple hours of popping the first pill, my headache had eased up - modern medicine is truly amazing.

I took it easy on Tuesday and Wednesday, and slept in before going in to the office. Fortunately I caught the malaria early enough that it wasn't too far along and the medicine kicked in quickly. Strangely enough, today was a little rough (I was a bit lightheaded all day and my stomach was not happy), but maybe I shouldn't have gone to work after Monday, hard to say.

For now, I'm getting tired of not feeling 100%. I don't typically get sick, and I forgot how much it completely sucks. Especially this weird limbo -- I'm able to get out of bed and go about my normal day-to-day activities, but I have this weird brain fog that prevents any serious mental productivity. I'm thinking (and hoping!) I'll be more back to normal by this weekend or early next week, but am really not sure what to expect. Ugh.

For now, it is bedtime. One more day of work before the weekend. I am definitely ready for the weekend.