Fighting Malaria

It seems we no sooner got David home from an overnight stay at the clinic for malaria, and we are bringing in Rob. David was on an overnight IV drip because we could not manage his level of malaria with oral medications. He responded well to the IV and came home this afternoon. In the meantime we were treating Rob with the oral medication for malaria, because he tested low. Later this afternoon when we checked his temperature he was 104.5 Fahrenheit about 40 Celsius. We cooled him down in a cool bath to a less dangerous level of 102. We took him to the clinic at that point and they admitted him for an overnight drip.

It is not uncommon for us to get one of the kids tested when they don't feel well and the test will show negative. And then it could be the next day and they are off the charts! Even when we seem to catch it early with some oral medication, which we keep handy. Very high temperatures are common with malaria, as we have done the cool bath routine before to break a high fever. I feel for them because I know it is not a comfortable bath but we have to take some immediate actions. We know the clinic does not have facilities to cool down a patient and I have yet to see them take the temperature of a patient. It really makes me realize why the average life expectancy is so low as 45 years. We have noticed that the IV drip of quinine seems to be quick acting. Malaria is a tricky disease, it has highs and lows, one day you may feel OK and then the next day you get really ill. The symptoms seem to vary among patients.

Let us praise God for giving us clinic to go to and for providing the funds to pay for it.
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