Sick

It has been an interesting couple of weeks…to say the least! My friend Megan was in town for a conference and I decided to follow her back to Bahar Dar for a little R&R as it had been weeks since I had traveled further than my feet would carry me. We weren't in town but 3 hours when Megan became extremely ill. I'm just glad that we weren't on the bus and that I was there to help her. I'm also thankful that we have an excellent medical officer…even if all she could do was provide phone consultation.

After 6 hours of worsening symptoms, it was decided that I needed to get Megan to a clinic. It is a hassle to deal with urgent care in the States, but dealing with an urgent medical issue at 10pm in Ethiopia is on an entirely different scale. I was given the name of a clinic to take her to, but she was too weak and dehydrated to get there under her own power. Fortunately, friends in town were able to procure a taxi for us. We finally arrived at the clinic around 10:30pm and she was seen immediately.

Ultimately they decided to admit her for IV antibiotics and rehydration (for you health professionals out there…they believe that she had Shigella). The physician quickly realized that I wasn't about to leave Megan there by herself, and gave orders for a bed to be prepared for me as well. It was a long night…fortunately Megan slept, but I was on "nurse duty" so I only caught a few winks! At one point I had to go shake the real nurse awake as Megan's IV had run dry. No call system here! Despite the limited resources she did receive good care and felt almost human again by morning. She spent the next 3 days recuperating at a hotel before feeling strong enough to board the bus for home. It is no fun being sick here!