Mural

As part of our HIV-prevention program, we had an art contest for youth in our town. Ten to 17 year olds could submit their drawings about HIV prevention to be painted as a mural. My host sister, Keysi, won. And we, along with the help of some Peru 14ers visiting my town for some in-service training, finally finished it.

Enjoy:


Note: The mural says "The man of tomorrow is he who protects himself today." And the girl in the middle is shouting "Protect yourself from HIV with the rule of: A-Abstinence B-Be faithful and C-Use Condoms."

The Perfect Storm

For the sake of transparency, I should say that though I have written some of my more dramatic sickness stories (chucake, anyone?), I try to keep ... that part of my life ... out of the spotlight and buried deep in my private memory. I mean, no one wants to hear the gory details, and I'm not all that excited about reliving them. This past week, however, I had what some in the PC world call "The Perfect Storm." And it was one of those moments where I had to shake my head and laugh because, come on, this stuff only happens in the Peace Corps.

While I was in Lima for a root canal, I got sick with giardia and dengue. The combination of tooth trouble, parasite and tropical virus made it pretty impossible for me to eat or hold anything down, resulting in three full days in a hostel bed, slipping in and out of consciousness.

The root canal, believe it or not, went fine. Despite my spending the weeks prior mildly freaking out about it, it was relatively painless, and left me with just a sore jaw and 5 more dental appointments to fit a crown.

The day after, however, I started feeling woozy -- losing steam really quickly and nearly passing out while out running. I shrugged it off as low blood sugar, downed some water, ate a huge lunch, and thought it was done.

Then the stomach cramps started -- a telltale sign of giardia, a parasite infamous for burrowing itself in the stomach lining and causing horribly uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassing GI symptoms. It's actually pretty common among volunteers and most likely the result of my jungle adventure a few weeks ago.*

It probably wouldn't have been so terrible had I not had dengue fever running rampant through my blood stream, too. They call it the "bone crushing disease" because, well, it makes you feel like your bones are being crushed. It's a flu-like virus transmitted from person to person through mosquitoes and fairly common in Tumbes. I thought I had escaped the season, but alas. I ached along my spine and pelvis, had a fever, and fought to fend off the practically unbearable nausea.

Needless to say it was perhaps the most persistently miserable I have been (physically) in my Peace Corps service. But thankfully, like most things, it passed, and I am back to my sprightly self.

Truthfully, the whole thing could have been way worse. While dengue usually lasts 7 days, I got away with having it only 3 or 4. I was in Lima already for the root canal and so had access to the Peace Corps doctors and labs. And, coincidentally, my boyfriend was in town, and held my hand when there was nothing else I could do.

The experience made me realize a few things. 1.) It's never too late in your PC service to get sick as a dog (no matter how "over it" you think you are) 2.) I have awesome people in my life who are willing to take care of me and 3.) It's incredible what the human mind and body are capable of bouncing back from.

So don't worry, Mom. I'm fine now. Absolutely no permanent damage, and I wasn't even close to dying.

Just a lifetime ahead of testing positive for dengue fever, and yet another Peace Corps story.

*worth it.