Malaria Scare

What I had hoped to be a relaxing and low-key weekend ended up being quite the opposite and rather terrifying. Originally, Caitlin and I planned a visit to a clinic in the village on Saturday morning when instead, I woke up at 3AM with unbearable chills. Despite being under all the covers and putting on socks and a sweatshirt, I continued to feel frozen as I tried to go back to bed. The chills eventually turned into hot sweats, body aches, fever, stomach cramps, headaches, and everything in between. I still made myself get out of bed at 7 AM determined to make it to our planned visit and get some breakfast. Caitlin looked at me worried but I was convinced that some food would make my fatigue and body aches subside. Despite feeling nauseated, I forced myself to eat my entire meal but I didn’t feel any better. We both decided that we would cancel our trip and stay at home. I immediately scurried into bed the minute we entered our room. I slept from 8AM Saturday till 8AM Sunday, waking up in between only to drink water and either warm up or cool down from chills or fever. I felt a lot better once I woke up from my 24 hour sleep. I was able to finish my breakfast that morning without wanting to crawl back into bed.

I knew I didn't have food poisoning because I had not vomited or gone diarrhea but I was worried that I had something other than the ordinary flu. Upon googling symptoms for malaria, I was frightened when webmd described the exact same symptoms I had experienced:

• Fever.
• Chills.
• Headache.
• Sweats.
• Fatigue.
• Nausea

Despite being on malaria prophylaxis and having taken my meds religiously, there was still a possible chance, while slim, that I could have contracted malaria. Webmd had me convinced that I had it. I found an international clinic nearby and Caitlin accompanied me to go get checked out. After waiting a couple hours, I finally got to see a doctor who asked me about my clinical symptoms and if I had traveled anywhere outside of the city. Upon telling him about our trip to go rafting in the river Nile, he informed me that it was possible I had “Bilharzia” or what we know as schistosomiasis. He said that they would test for both.

After I got my blood drawn and waited an unbearably long thirty minutes for my results, I was … NEGATIVE for both malaria and schistosomiasis! He said I probably had some other virus and it was possible that I could still experience reoccurring symptoms.

I was able to leave the clinic with a peace of mind and revitalized energy. Caitlin and I decided to walk to Oasis Mall, a huge 24 hour mall next to a golf course and a number of fancy hotels. The area around Oasis mall is very Westernized and it felt like I was back in the States for a while. Unfortunately, the stores inside the mall didn’t have much to offer and we decided to take a detour to a craft market several blocks away. We got lost perusing through the market for a couple hours but was finally able to pull ourselves away to make it back to town for dinner. 

I am finally back in our room and feel ready to start the week ahead. We are meeting a WHO representative from Geneva early tomorrow morning so I plan to go to bed as early as possible. Good night!

The Surgery is a 24 hour international medical clinic located very close to where I am staying in Kampala. I feel very lucky and safe to have this clinic nearby!

The waiting room inside the clinic where I spent a couple hours thinking I had malaria.

The price I paid for testing negative for both malaria and schistosomiasis (around $40). Yes, I am well aware that my receipt says Mr. Stella Lee.

Inside Oasis Mall... We ate at this very cute cafe for lunch!

The view of the mall from the cafe. I felt like I was inside Glendale Galleria.

An outside view of the mall. Most of the people here were foreigners and tourists (the bus parked outside is a tour bus). They even have a casino here!

The patio of Endiro Cafe,-our favorite restaurant in Kissimente (Kissimente is the area of Kampala that we live in). We only let ourselves come here once a week, usually Sundays, because it is very expensive compared to local food prices.

As you can tell, Endiro Cafe is mainly frequented by foreigners, including us. The waitress here knows us very well now and we love her! 

I hope everyone had a healthy and happy weekend.. stay away from those mosquitoes because their bites are itchy! Thankfully you won't have to worry about malaria!