Part 2
Continued from here (you should read the first part before continuing with this part)
Saturday: I went to America! Well, actually just the American Embassy. Dehydration set in and the Malawi heat didn’t help, so I went to the medical officer on duty for an IV. She spent an hour pricking every vein in my body and apologizing because my veins kept popping. (Popping?! That sounds awful...) At one point, I asked her if we could take a break because she had been digging around in the back of my hand for so long. She finaly used a child’s needle and we were good to go. I stayed there for two liter drips, leaving behind a bit of blood from the many pricks and a whole lot of dirt from my bare feet, as well as mini bruises all over my arms and hands. I was put on some more anti-inflammatory drugs and was told I could be on a white diet: rice, bread, yogurt, light colored juices. The pain in my esophagus was pretty severe. Spicy soup was a bad choice. Selfish, Kathi. Spent the day trying to soothe esophagus with yogurt. I finally urinated. My friend Katie Shea brought me her blender and I was so excited to make a smoothie! Frozen strawberry yogurt, banana, milk – oh my mouth watered for the treat! Alas, the banana was too much. Christian has enjoyed the blender, though.
Sunday: Still waking at 3 am due to
pain. I started the white diet – rice
and naan – and it wasn’t too bad. I ate
the rice in between gulps of yogurt.
Shot of yogurt – rice – shot of yogurt – naan – shot of
yogurt....repeat. It was
exhausting. I took two naps today from
the amount of chewing. It still took me
hours to finish eating a meal. I ate the
same bowl of rice over the course of the day.
I can’t tell if the pain has improved.
It’s still just too painful to eat.
Tried white grape juice – too much for the esophagus, which caused me to
cry out in pain. Now I’m just angry.
Monday: The Peace Corps doctor is in
– he felt around my stomach and esophagus and said something felt funny but he
couldn’t be sure. I was sent to get an
ultrasound. They found nothing. They took an H Pylori test and I tested negatively, which is good. I was told I would be staying in Lilongwe at least
until Wednesday. Again, I ate rice and naan and yogurt. This diet is getting boring. I talked to the Indian man at my favorite
restaurant (who by now has noticed me
not eating my usual spicy goodness) and he recommended a bland soup that had
more protein and nutrients than rice and naan.
I told him tomorrow, I hope. Soup
is still too thick. I felt so weak in the afternoon I fell going up the stairs. Getting fed up. Ready to go home. If only...
To be continued...
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