It all started with one swollen lymph node in the back of my throat during finals week. The other lymph nodes soon followed suit, little bumps on the back of my neck, under my jaw, expanding in my throat. My first thought: oh no, not mono again—not now. It gets better. Then came the one night of explosive diarrhea. I should have thought at this point, maybe this is not mono. But I brushed it off, thinking it was just from something I had eaten.
And then the fever hit. The kind of fever roaring at 105F, debilitating to the point that living vertically was nearly impossible. I ended up being bedridden as my parents graciously helped moved me out and back home to Saratoga. At this point it was Sunday evening, I was scheduled to fly out the next day for Uganda, and I was just coming to terms with the fact that I was ill and not getting better as quickly as I had hoped. In my feverish, irrational state, I had tried rationalizing leaving as planned with the other East Africa fellows. But my body was beat, and I was about 15% packed (and negative 50% ready) for my eight-week fellowship in Tanzania.
I am so grateful for the support and love from my family, friends, and fellowship team which carried me through this madness. I was able to get my departure flight delayed until later in the week, so that I could get checked out by a physician and rest in the meantime. The doctor believes it was some kind of stomach flu virus that also infected my throat. Now a week later, I have pulled through fever-free and I can finally eat solid foods again.
I like to believe I am usually quite intuitive a person. But I’ve realized one weakness in my intuition is when it comes to applying it to myself. It had taken me four days to accept the fact that I was took sick to travel as planned, and that maybe seeing a doctor was a good idea. Sometimes we may get blinded by our pure passion and excitement. As much as the virus sucked (I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone), it was a wake-up call to remember what mattered the most right now: getting healthy before flying far away into a developing country where my condition could possibly worsen. As I go into my seven weeks in Uganda and Tanzania, my priorities will need to be in check (health & safety first!) and we all will need to stay in tune with our mental and physical wellbeing.
In two days, I fly out from SFO on Sunday for Entebbe, Uganda to meet up with my research partner, Lindsey. She has extended her time in Uganda, and we will fly to Tanzania and arrive on the ground together.
Soon I will be flying 105 degrees due southeast, across the Atlantic Sea bound for Tanzania. While the 105 degrees is merely a loose guesstimate at best (and I’m no expert in cartography), I know the struggles of this past week have only made me more ready for the challenges and adventures ahead. What matters is that we take care of ourselves right now and not worry about the rest, because that will come and we will figure it out. As they say in Tanzania, “pole-pole,” Swahili for “slowly, take it easy.”
And now, adventure awaits.
