Salmonella and Soup #5

Author's note: My camera battery burned out, so I won't probably be posting pictures for a while.

On Friday I was unusually irritable, which was unfortunate. After attending vespers (albeit not wholeheartedly excited about it) my mood was quite a bit better. Sabbath was also a mediocre day, and I started developing a headache in the afternoon. Figured it was probably just dehydration or malnutrition, so I took two aspirin, drank a little water, and forgot about it. Sunday I woke up and had the runs, mild nausea, and the headache had returned by that afternoon. I began to suspect something was wrong by the early evening, and sure enough, around 1900 I spiked a fever. I figured I must have malaria, so I told the doctor I'd like to be tested the next morning. 2 aspirin. Bed. The next morning I had the blood test done (The lab tech drew my blood while he was talking on the phone! Like 2nd nature to him, where if I had done it to somebody it would have taken every ounce of my focus). The tests were run, and I tested negative for malaria. Great! I also tested positive for typhoid fever. Not great! I was a little disappointed that the vaccine I had right before coming didn't do me any good. Well, I was prescribed an IV injection of ceftriaxone, and 10 days of cefixime tabs. By this time I had developed a lower backache that persisted through Wednesday (almost felt like kidney pain vs. a muscle ache). The most frustrating part is not knowing where or when I picked the bug up. It could have been number of things: From shaking someone's hand and not washing mine before lunch, to the water filter needing to be replaced. It's hard to know what I need to do differently to NOT catch this bug again! Other than that frustration I actually didn't feel that terrible throughout the whole bout. I was uncomfortable, but I've definitely been sicker. The 6 finals weeks and countless midterms I've been through have caused me more distress. And on the bright side the prompt treatment and diagnosis is one blessing about working in a hospital. Vital medical attention is literally next door to my apartment. Anyway, that's what's gone on through the beginning of the week. I made it back to work by Wednesday, so only missed 2 days. I did miss out on Sunday's market, so it's been beans and rice quite a bit. During my downtime I completely disassembled my laptop and cleaned the fan, and it's running a lot better now!
Got at least one vote for Dr. Bellosillo's bull testicle joke (you've always been a winner, Dad), so here goes: A Filipino guy went to Spain and watched a bullfight while he was there. He saw that the bull's testicles were very big, and once the bull was killed he went to the hotel where they took it to prepare the meat. He went to the restaurant and asked for "soup number 5" which features the cooked bull's testicles. They told him that this particular pair were spoken for and he'd have to put his name on a waiting list. He was told to return in a few days. Well a couple of days went by and he was called in and served his soup number 5, but the dish wasn't nearly as lavish as he had remembered. He called the waiter over to the table and said "Hey, what's the deal here? The testicles I saw on the bull the other day were much bigger than this." To which the waiter replied "Well sir, sometimes the bull wins." We had a pretty good laugh over that one at Sabbath lunch.
Another difference I've noticed after spending quite some time out and about is that the last time I saw someone taller than me was when I said goodbye to Dylan Browning (fellow Walla Walla SM to Uganda) at the airport in Addis. The Cameroonians are all shorter than me as far as I can tell! There have been some that are only a couple centimeters away (the closest one I've seen is one of the female nurses here at the hospital. She's quite tall), but none are my height. For a while I thought Prosper (the accountant) or Joseph (the head nurse) were as tall as me, but I think their positions of importance gave them the illusion of being bigger than they were because they're both probably a good 5-7 cm shorter than me.
The last thing is not so much something I've noticed as it is something I've been meaning to  mention but have forgotten to this point. The plant life here is vibrant, as one would expect for a tropical region. The hospital compound has quite the assortment of trees and shrubs, but my personal favorite right now is this one particular guava tree behind the hospital. There are at least 4 guava trees on the property, but this one's distinction is that its fruit isn't awful. And right now the guavas are ripening and they taste so good! Of course, all the staff know this, so if the junior doctor disappears for a few minutes, you can often find him filling his pockets at the guava tree with the long, 3 pronged stick that naturally grew into the perfect tool to pluck the highest, juiciest guavas. The birds are also aware, so if you let a guava get too ripe they will start eating it right off the tree. The locals here eat the whole thing, skin and all. I prefer just the fruit. Before coming here, I don't think I had ever tasted a fresh guava (only had it in the Kern's nectar or POG). They're seedy, but you get used to it. I planted one in an old cut up water bottle filled with dirt on my 3rd or 4th day here. It started to sprout about a week ago! Once those go out of season, I think the bananas on the property will be starting to ripen, so there's more fresh fruit to look forward to!

TL;DR I got typhoid. They were human testicles. Dylan Browning is the last person I saw taller than me. The guavas here are awesome.