Malaria...

Malaria takes many lives here in Uganda. For the past two years OurGanda has been doing their part to help battle Malaria by testing children and adults alike and providing the needed treatment. Thankfully many lives have been saved! For the past few days I have not been feeling well. I thought it was just something I ate but some of the team thought it could be Malaria. I thought it wasn’t likely because I’ve been taking preventative medication (I did miss one or two days though). Yesterday I was tested for Malaria after feeling very unwell, vomiting, and unable to join the team out to the villages. The test result was negative. However, I was still feeling unwell this morning. Joe took me to the clinic where Oscar works to be retested for Malaria. This time, instead of a finger prick, Oscar withdrew blood from my vein in order to take a look under the microscope. I thought he was kidding at first when he announced that I indeed had Malaria! But he wasn’t! He also did the strip test again and a faint line showed up. I was able to look through the microscope and identify the Malaria parasite! It’s one thing to learn about it in nursing school, it’s another to have it! Thankfully it was identified early before I got worse. I am taking treatment for three days and should be back to health! The OurGanda team has been wonderful to make sure I have everything I need! I know I will be okay! Appreciate your prayers every day!

The line is very faint to the left of the bold line indicating positive for Malaria.