November 17th, 2014 by Rachel | Tags: Peace Corps | 1 Comment »
When you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for so much fun.
Un-slumnping yourself
is not easily done.Dr. Seuss, from the book, Oh, the Great Places You’ll Go
Two weeks ago, when the training was still going very well and coming close to an end, a bunch of bricks suddenly fell on me. A couple hours after one lunch, I felt stomach pains but continued to go on with my work. Later that afternoon, I hanged out at my host mother’s boutique and talked to my host mother and sisters. All of a sudden, I couldn’t stand, felt queasy, and needed to vomit. Just after I kneeled to the floor outside, my host mother grabbed me and pulled me to a bathroom behind her boutique. After I went to the bathroom, I felt a little better. I went back to the boutique to continue to chat. When one of the trainees came over, I mentioned that I was feeling sick and it had to come from the lunch. Because she lived with the woman who made lunches for trainees and staff members and she saw her making them, she knew the source of cause. She mentioned to me that the cold fresh soy milk I drank at lunch was mixed with unpasteurized cow milk. “Ah! Good to know,” I said and hoped that I was just simply experiencing what people with lactose intolerance experience – just a very short term stomach pain and diarrhea.
As the night went on, I got sicker, couldn’t eat dinner and just stayed in my room and the bathroom. I was going through my first very typical food poisoning experience in Cameroon. I contacted a Peace Corps nurse who guided me on what I should do which included taking a medication that was already provided to me at the beginning of my service and drinking lots of fluids with oral rehydration salts. I got very little sleep that night.
By the next morning, I felt a little better but extremely exhausted. I stayed at my host family’s to rest and missed training. That night, I felt much sicker. I was in tears. My host mother looked at me and said to me, “You need to go to the hospital.” She took my cell phone and called Peace Corps. Peace Corps picked me up promptly and took me to the hospital. I spent the night at the hospital with a Peace Corps nurse who provided me medicines and fluids via IV for severe dehydration.
The next morning, I felt so much better and ready to get back on with my life. I took some lab tests which confirmed that I had an ordinary bacterial infection and was put on antibiotics for three days. About an hour after I went back to my host family feeling very well, I felt very sick again. I was back in the hospital that night with a Peace Corps nurse who spent the night with me again and gave me more medicines and fluids via IV.
The following morning, as I began to feel a little better, I had more lab tests. Shortly after the lab test, the Peace Corps nurse said, “The milk you had was very very bad. You’ve been tested positive for Typhoid Fever.”
That moment gave me flashbacks to my time in Peru in 2009. When I was in Peru and got sick with food poisoning, I went to a hospital and had lab tests done. When a doctor told me I was tested positive for Typhoid Fever, I said to her, “I’ve been vaccinated against it.”
“The vaccine doesn’t always work,” she said.
I just went on with my life in Peru by believing that I only had an ordinary bacterial infection and thought that the doctor had just misinformed me. I always believed that vaccines are 100% full proof.
I was vaccinated for Typhoid Fever in April 2009 and again this past August before coming to Cameroon.
“So the vaccines for Typhoid Fever don’t really work?” I asked the Peace Corps nurse. She went onto to explain to me that no vaccines are 100% full proof against diseases and that they just build up immunity. She said that however, because I had been vaccinated, I had a very low count of Typhoid Fever. I had 2 out of 10, 10 being the most severe. If I had not been vaccinated, I would have had a much higher count and been gravely ill.
The Peace Corps nurse also informed me that Typhoid Fever is typically caused by fresh juices and fresh unpasteurized milk.
The lab test result gave the answer to why I was experiencing the illness the way I did. I felt better the day before because the antibiotics had kicked in for the ordinary bacterial infection and then Typhoid Fever kicked in and the antibiotics struggled at first to fight against both. I was put on antibiotics for 10 days total instead of 3 days to get rid of Typhoid Fever. I stayed at the hospital for additional three nights to be under observation to make sure I was really better even though I was better by the third day.
When I finally went back to my host family, a few hours later, I felt very nauseated again. I contacted the medical team to tell them I was feeling sick again and absolutely frustrated and that this was not right. I spent the night at the training center with a nurse to be under observation and then went to Yaounde the following morning. My stomach began to hurt again during the night. Once I got to Yaounde, I was examined by the medical officers and then put in the hospital overnight for observation. I felt sicker overnight as I was experiencing stomach pains, extreme nausea and also cluster headache for the first time in two years. The medical officers brought me back to the Peace Corps headquarter the following morning to keep me under watch. A medical officer finally gave me a clear answer as to why I’ve been really sick and struggling to recover – I had two different bacterial infections happening at the same time – typhoid fever and salmonella. She explained that I would get better but the recovery would take longer than usual. She provided me additional medicines to help me get through the recovery. I was also told that the antibiotics was the one likely causing the nausea. I redid my entire lab test in Yaounde. It came normal all across the board, meaning the bacteria has been cleared out of my system. So they stopped the antibiotics. Within 24 hours of stopping the antibiotics and starting different medications, I felt so much better and headed back to Mengong.
As I looked back on my time when I got sick in Peru, I realized that the doctor did not misinform me because the pattern of my illness was somewhat similar. I remembered that I had to be on antibiotics for 10 day in Peru instead of the typical three days because I was still not clear after three days. I had fresh orange juice right before I got sick.
I was so grateful and thankful to be surrounded by amazing people who looked after me. A Peace Corps nurse who only works with the trainees spent every night with me in the hospital in Ebolowa and kept in touch with a Peace Corps medical officer in Yaounde who continually checked on me while I was in Ebolowa and also contacted the medical department at the Peace Corps Headquarter in DC to make sure I was taking the best treatment course for my illness. I truly got the best medical care. My host mother called and texted me everyday to check on me. She also even came to visit me in the hospital in Ebolowa and brought me a homemade heart shaped cake. I should note that the hospital was 30 minutes from Mengong where I was living. My host father who was on a business trip in Far North not only texted me everyday to check on me, but also called a Peace Corps staff member to check on me. Two trainees who have become close friends checked on me constantly. Some other trainees visited my host family to get updates. They all truly rallied around me to get better by saying very comforting and positive words such as “stay strong,” “you’ll get through this,” and “you’ll be OK.” Their messages made all the difference in my recovery.
I am sharing this story because I feel that it’s important to inform people that vaccines are not 100% effective. When traveling to countries where exotic diseases exist and if you get sick, you should still get tested for diseases you’ve been vaccinated against.
I’ve also certainly learned that I should only drink milk when it’s in a known brand bottle or boiling hot.
Here’s a photo that was just taken a few days ago of me in my awesome new custom made African pagne dress to show you that I’m alive and back to my old self.
1 Comment
Kay Kershman
November 17, 2014 at 8:28 pm
You look well and adorable. Grandpa and I were so worried about your illnesses. My mother had had typhoid in the 1930’s when she was married and almost lost her life b/c antibiotics and other potent meds did not exist then. We are glad you have had good care and attention. That was very encouraging for us.
We are glad you liked your package of goodies.
Stay well. Don’t get overtired. You have been sick and need to slowly get back to your duties-don’t push too hard or you will have a relapse of exhaustion.
I have a book to recommend-Me Before You. It is totally one of the most outstanding books I have read. Talks about 2 characters where one is a quadriplegic and the other tries to help him. We discussed it at my book club-lots of issues, interesting female character. Easy to read. I would send you my copy but Mom told me to send the title so that you could get it on your computer.
Stay in touch.
Love you,
Grandma and Grandpa