As many of you know, John contracted malaria again last Thursday. It was quite scary at the time, but we caught it much earlier and he's nearly fully recovered as of now. But here are the nitty gritty details of what happened last Thursday:
So John called me from upcountry at about 7:30 am and said he thinks he has malaria. He felt okay other than a little achy and feverish and was going to make the 3.5 hour trip home. He hadn't brought any tests or treatment with him on the trip (which we will ALWAYS do from here on out). Since it had been over a week since I had seen him I was thinking "yay! He's coming home!" I knew the recovery would be a bit rough, but I thought it wouldn't be as bad since we caught it earlier.
Two hours later I called to check up on him and he said he wasn't doing very well, feeling worse. I asked him if he needed to pull over and take a break. He said he'd rather just try and make it home. About 45 minutes later I called to check on him again. I thought it was a bad connection as to why I couldn't understand him, but I later found out that he was in a bit of delirium and wasn't making sense. Apparently at that time, he had told me to meet him at the gate when he got home. I didn't hear him, but got a test out and some water to take the medication.
On his drive home, he picked up an OSD (military type officer) who he had to beg to come with him and take the wheel if he passed out. He said he was nearly in tears because he felt so horrible and they were giving him a hard time about paying them for helping him. (Breaks my heart thinking about it now!)
I was in the house when I heard him honking honking honking away for Ernest to come open the gate. I pictured him being able to make it up the steps to our house though. Boy oh boy was I wrong. Next thing I hear is Ernest pounding at my door saying "Kaysie come quick John e sick" Then I hear Robin come running up to my house saying "Kaysie I'll watch Aden" At that point, it came to me that John must be really bad. Later I also found out the John was trying to get Ernest to get me quick but Ernest kept thinking John was joking. Finally he was like "Ernest, I am going to die.. GO GET KAYSIE!"
Our house is situated up on a hill and our house is at the top with the Courtneys' and Gonzales' houses below. I ran down the many sets of stairs as fast as I could. As soon as I see John I could see that his face was as bad as it was last time and I was scared. He could barely muster the words that we needed to go to the hospital. Then he called for water. Escarlet was there so I said "agua, agua, rapido!" and she ran to get water from her home and I was flying up the stairs back to the house.
The nearest hospital is about 20-30 minutes away and the car that John was in was manual (which I don't know how to drive) All the possibilities were running through my mind of how to get there, and I remembered Robin's car (automatic) was still here so I could use that and she could stay with Aden. I was also thankful I weaned so he wouldn't have to be with us and I could be there for John.
On my way up I start telling Robin all the instructions for Aden's bottle, food, and anything else I could think of. I am sure I wasn't making sense. I was really worried for John and that we wouldn't make it to the hospital in time. Robin saw my fear and anxiety and says "Kaysie, calm down, its going to be okay" While she was right, I saw the suffering John went through last time at the hospital in the states and I was worried that he wouldn't have the same care, or the hospital wouldn't have enough beds and would have to turn him away (like they did for a friend of ours here who had a stroke and died)
I stuff my purse with water, a malaria kit and treatment, and a few fruit/nut bars. I run back down stairs expecting that I will have to move John to Robin's automatic car and I see John already in the passenger's side of his car and Abdul (a pastor that we work with and who is teaching the Gonzales family Krio) ready to drive. I thank God right there that Abdul is there. I found out later that Abdul had to carry John to the other side of the car. I jump in the back of the Land Cruiser and we are on our way...
To be continued...
So John called me from upcountry at about 7:30 am and said he thinks he has malaria. He felt okay other than a little achy and feverish and was going to make the 3.5 hour trip home. He hadn't brought any tests or treatment with him on the trip (which we will ALWAYS do from here on out). Since it had been over a week since I had seen him I was thinking "yay! He's coming home!" I knew the recovery would be a bit rough, but I thought it wouldn't be as bad since we caught it earlier.
Two hours later I called to check up on him and he said he wasn't doing very well, feeling worse. I asked him if he needed to pull over and take a break. He said he'd rather just try and make it home. About 45 minutes later I called to check on him again. I thought it was a bad connection as to why I couldn't understand him, but I later found out that he was in a bit of delirium and wasn't making sense. Apparently at that time, he had told me to meet him at the gate when he got home. I didn't hear him, but got a test out and some water to take the medication.
On his drive home, he picked up an OSD (military type officer) who he had to beg to come with him and take the wheel if he passed out. He said he was nearly in tears because he felt so horrible and they were giving him a hard time about paying them for helping him. (Breaks my heart thinking about it now!)
I was in the house when I heard him honking honking honking away for Ernest to come open the gate. I pictured him being able to make it up the steps to our house though. Boy oh boy was I wrong. Next thing I hear is Ernest pounding at my door saying "Kaysie come quick John e sick" Then I hear Robin come running up to my house saying "Kaysie I'll watch Aden" At that point, it came to me that John must be really bad. Later I also found out the John was trying to get Ernest to get me quick but Ernest kept thinking John was joking. Finally he was like "Ernest, I am going to die.. GO GET KAYSIE!"
Our house is situated up on a hill and our house is at the top with the Courtneys' and Gonzales' houses below. I ran down the many sets of stairs as fast as I could. As soon as I see John I could see that his face was as bad as it was last time and I was scared. He could barely muster the words that we needed to go to the hospital. Then he called for water. Escarlet was there so I said "agua, agua, rapido!" and she ran to get water from her home and I was flying up the stairs back to the house.
The nearest hospital is about 20-30 minutes away and the car that John was in was manual (which I don't know how to drive) All the possibilities were running through my mind of how to get there, and I remembered Robin's car (automatic) was still here so I could use that and she could stay with Aden. I was also thankful I weaned so he wouldn't have to be with us and I could be there for John.
On my way up I start telling Robin all the instructions for Aden's bottle, food, and anything else I could think of. I am sure I wasn't making sense. I was really worried for John and that we wouldn't make it to the hospital in time. Robin saw my fear and anxiety and says "Kaysie, calm down, its going to be okay" While she was right, I saw the suffering John went through last time at the hospital in the states and I was worried that he wouldn't have the same care, or the hospital wouldn't have enough beds and would have to turn him away (like they did for a friend of ours here who had a stroke and died)
I stuff my purse with water, a malaria kit and treatment, and a few fruit/nut bars. I run back down stairs expecting that I will have to move John to Robin's automatic car and I see John already in the passenger's side of his car and Abdul (a pastor that we work with and who is teaching the Gonzales family Krio) ready to drive. I thank God right there that Abdul is there. I found out later that Abdul had to carry John to the other side of the car. I jump in the back of the Land Cruiser and we are on our way...
To be continued...
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