Sick of Sick

You haven't been sick until you've been sick overseas in a 3rd world country, probably more so in Mali. In America you can call up your doctor get a prescription, sleep in an air conditioned environment, and just enjoy the many amenities of comfort. Not so in Mali. If you're in Mali you really don't want to go see a doctor unless you REALLY have to. First of all it costs an arm and a leg and second most of them probably can't accurately tell you what's wrong with you because they don't have the same abilities to test you as in the States. Then add to that the fact that your ability to get yourself more comfortable, as you try and get well, just simply isn't possible.

I'm not on here to blog a spiel of complaints but instead I find myself re-examining how different and difficult life can be in some very immediate ways we often probably wouldn't think about. Plus I'm not just any old sick I'm down and out. Its hard to sit up and type so I'm doing this in installments, resting and then returning again and again. I ache all over, I'm on the verge of a fever, I visit the bathroom VERY regularly, I sweat continuously because of the temperature in the house, I constantly feel like I'm going to throw up, and I've got a headache splitting my brain wide open as I try not to barf up the liters and liters of water I'm drinking to try and stay hydrated.  I've lost so much water that when I flex it looks like I've been hitting the gym regularly. Again I'm not complaining but I find myself reflecting because I realize how fortunate still I am.

I find myself thinking about the fact I'm lucky to be able to run to a fridge and grab another 1.5 L bottle of CLEAN water (I've almost drank 4 today). How lucky I am to have Tylenol, Advil, Pepto-Bismol, and a bed that sits up above the ground. People die every year here in Mali from what I'm dealing with...especially children. They get sick, they catch a fever, and they get dehydrated in a matter of hours, and before you know it they are either worse for drinking unclean water, or they die from other causes related to their illness (often times cause their is NO doctor or hospital near by or they couldn't afford one anyways). All I have to do is BUCK UP and ride it out as uncomfortable as it is here. So I've got nothing to complain about cause I'm not dying...but then again think again before you start to gripe cause you're a 5 minute drive from somewhere that would save the lives of  many people each year...not a hospital...a GROCERY STORE.