pics from my trip 

I’m back from Panama, and I’m sitting here typing this entry with gauze pads taped to the crooks of both of my arms. More on that later.

Panama was amazing! (Hi Nancy, Lynn, Andrea, Nicola, Ropper, and Adam!) Beautiful rainforests and beaches, strange animals, and tons of mosquitoes and other biting insects. I think I have about 200 bites just on my lower legs. I won’t be wearing a skirt or shorts anytime soon! Anyway, good thing that I was taking my anti-malarials. I can’t take any chances and get some crazy disease before I leave for Peace Corps.

This morning I woke up feeling hung over, but I hadn’t had anything to drink. I took the morning off from work because I had an ortho appointment, so I could sleep in a bit. When I did get up I wasn’t feeling any better. I took my temperature, which was just under 100 degrees (for those of you on metric, 98.6 degrees is normal). But that wasn’t going to stop me from my ortho appointment. I was getting my bottom braces off! (Oh yeah, some of you probably didn’t know this, but I have braces.)

1 1/2 hours later I was done. Bottom braces out, permanent retainer in, molds for retainers done. I think the tops are coming off in 3-4 weeks. My brother thinks that my bottom teeth look too straight and perfect that they look fake. But I think they look great!

I didn’t feel any better after my appointment. Actually, I felt worse. I took my temperature again. 103 degrees!

I don’t know much about malaria. I was told that the incubation period is about nine days and that the first symptom to appear is fever.

It’s been nine days since I entered a malarial area, and I had a raging fever. I was covered in bug bites. I never get sick. I thought, of course I would get malaria even though I was taking anti-malarials, and I’d probably get my invitation to Peace Corps rescinded.

So off to the emergency room I went. A urine test, a ride on a gurney in a backless hospital gown, two chest x-rays, 7 vials and bottles of blood drawn, and a bag of IV fluid later, I was told the news: I didn’t have malaria! Yay! The doc said that it’s probably flu, and I just have to let it pass.

What’s the moral of the story? Don’t be a hypochondriac. And health insurance is great.