Have you ever been glad you had Malaria?

I am now in Lilongwe staying at a friend’s house where I have been for the last 2 nights. Last week I was feeling rough (light fever) so kept checking my temperature with no real reason for concern. On Tuesday night I carried out a do it yourself Malaria test which proved to be negative. Wednesday passed by like Tuesday, but feeling no better I decided to use the last of my emergency fuel to drive to Kasungu for more tests. I arrived at the hospital and because I was a paying patient I was seen immediately. The blood tests proved negative again.

‘Oh dear’ I hope it’s not sleeping sickness again. Could Kasungu do these tests? No.

I drove the 2 hours to Lilongwe were I booked into the ABC clinic where they carried out bloods test again. They diagnosed level 3 plus Malaria. WAS I RELEAVED? The doctor told me that if I had left one more day I would have lucky to crawl into the hospital let alone walk into it.

I have never been so relieved to know that I have Malaria. The alternative was probably sleeping sickness which having had it before I knew was much worse.

I was admitted to a private room, excellent, and plugged into a quinine drip for 24 hours (4 doses). They tested my bloods again and the result was now level 2 plus Malaria which was seen as a good result. I was discharged from the hospital and given Coartem 20/120 which consists of Artemether Lumefantrine commonly known as LAR. This kills the rest of the parasites and clears the body of the stuff left over in your blood. (sorry, not very technical)

The first night I still had quite bad aches and felt tired all day but last night it didn’t seem too bad and I managed to get some good sleep but still had a fever and the sweats.

They say I must eat! It’s a bit like a hangover in that respect. You know you must eat something but you think as soon as do you will sick it back up again. Anyway I forced myself to eat something every time I have to have the drugs. Coco cola is meant to be very good for your stomach so I have plenty of that as well as a milky orange juice that lines your stomach so that you don’t get ulcers.

So things are going well at the moment and ill keep the blog updated.

OH! Mangoes are in season at the moment so I hope to eat loads of them as well.

As for the project and Kasungu NP, things are very much the same as usual. The main and everlasting problem here is fuel. I have only managed to fill the twice in the last 8 months and even the government vehicles struggle to get fuel. They are charging their workers to go shopping and they have to buy the fuel from the black market. Some of this is dosed with paraffin or water and this in turn damages the engine. Food etc. seems to be coming into the country as the whole salers have found their own way of getting supplies of fuel.

During October and November the department confiscated about 20 fire arms and arrested 20 gun poachers which they trying to prosecute. I am trying to find the funds to set up a sustainable reward system to give the scouts a bonus if they catch and prosecute the poachers. Whether it will work or not remains to be seen. The first bill should be ready soon.

Most of the animals and birds have dispersed back into the woodland now so the main animals to be seen daily are the hippos and puku. The grysbok and duiker are still around my house and it is good to see them from time to time. We saw 18 elephants about a week ago and they seemed quite peaceful and quiet.