Part 1
Hello all,
Sorry it has been so long since I last blogged. It has now been 6 weeks here in Uganda, and the first time I have blogged since I returned. A lot has happened so I will try to recap some of what has been going on.
First, about three days after I arrived here, a team from Harrah arrived for their first official visit to the village they are now sponsoring, Wera. Two days into their visit here, I was jumping rope with some of the kids and, well, those of you who know me can imagine the amount of pure energy it takes to get me off the ground. If you can imagine that, you can also imagine the impact when landing from an amazing two inch vertical jump. Needless to say......... I hurt my back. Nothing serious, it just needed some time to refresh, but that would have to wait until Harrah went home.
Mean while, Harrah had their own problems. It seems the airline they had used had their own ideas as to how important it was to get their bags. Harrah had come here with the intention of installing a water well. Since their bags were three days late in getting here, it put a damper on being able to finish the well. They did, however, complete the drilling process. They just weren't able to get the pump installed. I told them "no problem, I'll get that installed for you". I just wanted to take a couple of days and rest my back. I did that and things were fine, until, Uganda showed me a little of what she is capable of.
Malaria 911! The people that stay at the house with me are amazing. They realized immediately that something was wrong with me and strongly suggested that I go and get a Malaria test. I wasn't feeling so well, so I asked one of the young men to drive me to the clinic to get tested. Immaculate, who cooks for me and just really takes care of me, accompanied us to the clinic. Sure enough, I test plus two for Malaria. The good news was, they had caught it early, the bad news is, that is all they tested me for. I'll explain that later. So, I was given the medication and sent home. All this, before the symptoms ever really started to show themselves. Sounds great huh!
So on the way home, the young man driving me, was making a turn, and failed to see a woman crossing the road. He knocked her down with the corner of the car. Luckily, he wasn't going fast at all, but when she tried to catch her fall, she broke her wrist. We loaded her into the car and after my adrenaline had kicked in, I drove her to the local hospital, only a block away. Unfortunately, we were followed there by the local police. The police knew that I wasn't the one driving the car, but they still impounded my car for a few days so that they could inspect the vehicle. The amazing thing was the faith that this woman had. The first thing she said was "God Loves Me!" She knew that God had saved her. That is one of the amazing thing about Ugandans, they always find the good in everything.
That night was not a good night for me. The symptoms were starting to show their ugly heads. Drenching sweats followed by uncontrollable shivering followed by drenching sweats. The process just kept repeating itself. At least during the shivering, I would get some sleep. Its easier to sleep when your cold than when you are hot.
The next morning, I received a call from Dr. Peter in Mbale about 2 hours drive from Soroti. He had heard that I had contracted Malaria and advised that I come to Mbale as soon as possible, by any means necessary. My car had been impounded, and I was now feeling the full affect. My friend Becker, who drives a taxi was called and he immediatley gave up his taxi for the day and was at the house within 30 minutes to take me to Mbale. Once there, I was taken to a room at the hospital and given hot water packs to warm me up. Afterwards, I was given two shots within the course of an hour. After about two hours, I was sent home.
The next day, I felt much better, but continued to take my medicine as directed. Dr. Peter called daily to check on me. After the medication was over however, I continued to have these very bad headaches. Dr. Peter had me come back to Mbale for some more test. The test revealed that the Malaria was gone, but Typhoid had reared its ugly head. Fortunately, I had just renewed my vaccination for Typhois and it was battling the Typhoid. I was given another treatment ack, this one stronger and intended to fight the Typhoid. Three days later, the headaches were gone.
I'm better now. Thanks to a lot of prayers, a very good doctor, and some very great people here that really take care of me.
My battery is about to die on my laptop, but I will continue later with the great things that are going on here in Uganda. Love you all and thanks for your prayers!
Tom Cox
Hello all,
Sorry it has been so long since I last blogged. It has now been 6 weeks here in Uganda, and the first time I have blogged since I returned. A lot has happened so I will try to recap some of what has been going on.
First, about three days after I arrived here, a team from Harrah arrived for their first official visit to the village they are now sponsoring, Wera. Two days into their visit here, I was jumping rope with some of the kids and, well, those of you who know me can imagine the amount of pure energy it takes to get me off the ground. If you can imagine that, you can also imagine the impact when landing from an amazing two inch vertical jump. Needless to say......... I hurt my back. Nothing serious, it just needed some time to refresh, but that would have to wait until Harrah went home.
Mean while, Harrah had their own problems. It seems the airline they had used had their own ideas as to how important it was to get their bags. Harrah had come here with the intention of installing a water well. Since their bags were three days late in getting here, it put a damper on being able to finish the well. They did, however, complete the drilling process. They just weren't able to get the pump installed. I told them "no problem, I'll get that installed for you". I just wanted to take a couple of days and rest my back. I did that and things were fine, until, Uganda showed me a little of what she is capable of.
Malaria 911! The people that stay at the house with me are amazing. They realized immediately that something was wrong with me and strongly suggested that I go and get a Malaria test. I wasn't feeling so well, so I asked one of the young men to drive me to the clinic to get tested. Immaculate, who cooks for me and just really takes care of me, accompanied us to the clinic. Sure enough, I test plus two for Malaria. The good news was, they had caught it early, the bad news is, that is all they tested me for. I'll explain that later. So, I was given the medication and sent home. All this, before the symptoms ever really started to show themselves. Sounds great huh!
So on the way home, the young man driving me, was making a turn, and failed to see a woman crossing the road. He knocked her down with the corner of the car. Luckily, he wasn't going fast at all, but when she tried to catch her fall, she broke her wrist. We loaded her into the car and after my adrenaline had kicked in, I drove her to the local hospital, only a block away. Unfortunately, we were followed there by the local police. The police knew that I wasn't the one driving the car, but they still impounded my car for a few days so that they could inspect the vehicle. The amazing thing was the faith that this woman had. The first thing she said was "God Loves Me!" She knew that God had saved her. That is one of the amazing thing about Ugandans, they always find the good in everything.
That night was not a good night for me. The symptoms were starting to show their ugly heads. Drenching sweats followed by uncontrollable shivering followed by drenching sweats. The process just kept repeating itself. At least during the shivering, I would get some sleep. Its easier to sleep when your cold than when you are hot.
The next morning, I received a call from Dr. Peter in Mbale about 2 hours drive from Soroti. He had heard that I had contracted Malaria and advised that I come to Mbale as soon as possible, by any means necessary. My car had been impounded, and I was now feeling the full affect. My friend Becker, who drives a taxi was called and he immediatley gave up his taxi for the day and was at the house within 30 minutes to take me to Mbale. Once there, I was taken to a room at the hospital and given hot water packs to warm me up. Afterwards, I was given two shots within the course of an hour. After about two hours, I was sent home.
The next day, I felt much better, but continued to take my medicine as directed. Dr. Peter called daily to check on me. After the medication was over however, I continued to have these very bad headaches. Dr. Peter had me come back to Mbale for some more test. The test revealed that the Malaria was gone, but Typhoid had reared its ugly head. Fortunately, I had just renewed my vaccination for Typhois and it was battling the Typhoid. I was given another treatment ack, this one stronger and intended to fight the Typhoid. Three days later, the headaches were gone.
I'm better now. Thanks to a lot of prayers, a very good doctor, and some very great people here that really take care of me.
My battery is about to die on my laptop, but I will continue later with the great things that are going on here in Uganda. Love you all and thanks for your prayers!
Tom Cox
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