#$%#$ing MALARIA!!!!!!

I just recovered from malaria! I had to spend 3 nights in a hospital. It was one of the worst weeks of my life, and I've been to Cleveland, so that's saying a lot.

It hits you all at once. Monday morning at about 1 o'clock I had the worst craps and vomits and I was absolutely freezing. I was fully clothed, had my blankets on, had a pile of clothes, and two rugs covering me, and I was still completely fetal. I called the Peace Corps doctor at 8am and she told me that I probably had malaria and I needed to go to the hospital. I was in the Upper West, about 10 hours from Accra, but fortunately I was very close to a rural hospital. Unfortunately however rural hospitals in Ghana are the worst thing ever!

A few things to note if you go to the hospital in Ghana or Africa for that matter. Bring your own toilet paper, soap, water, and food. It will not be provided. I found that out the HARD way. Fortunately , I had a friend near by that pretty much saved my life.

So I was admitted to the hospital on Monday morning. I was on an iv and medicine for 3 long days. The "doctors" who by the way are Cuban volunteers who speak very poor English, are not very helpful. They don't tell you the side effects of the medicine. The medicine that they give you makes you have the worst hallucinations imaginable. I tripped harder than I have ever tripped in my life (and that's saying quite a bit). The hallucinations are so real, and so horrible. I can't even begin to describe them, but they were pure evil.

The man next me was begging to God all night to be spared his life, and then died that night. I could hear children dying. I had an iv in my hand for the entire time. The iv infultrated which means that it leaked out of my vein and my arm swelled up. I could barely move my arm. My left had was bloody, and my right had was covered in my own shit due to the lack of tp. At one point I brought the iv to the bathroom and realized that I had let it fall, so the iv bag filled with my own blood.

This was the only time in my life that I can think of where I thought that a disease was going to get the better of me. The hallucinations are so bad! But, like I said, my friend came and took care of me. And the Peace Corps doctor also made me feel much better. I am truly grateful to be better now. I wish that on nobody!

Take care and God bless!
Adam Martyn