It's been a while since the last post. Mainly because I've been recovering from malaria and typhoid.
Last Wednesday, I woke up feeling tired, with a headache and sore throat. Assuming I was just a bit run down after my travels, I texted my colleagues to say I wasn't feeling great and spent the day in bed.
The next day I had an important work event to attend - the 'Flag-off' (= launch) event for my department's Annual Interactive Dialogue with local government - so off I went, accompanied by Simon. Typically Nigerian, the event involved a lot of pomp (brass band - they really tried; stage filled with armchairs for the great and the good; an MC who decided that, since we were white, he needed to announce to the hundreds of attendees that we were "in their midst"), a lot of waiting around (the official programme for the day showed that the first three hours after the start time were just for arrivals of various important people) and a lot of loud ballads being blasted out of huge speakers. None of this made me feel any better.
When Simon had to leave for his lift to Kafanchan (where he was overnighting for work), he forgot to leave me the internet dongle, as arranged. When I remembered this, I sat in the ceremony for half an hour, trying not to cry. That's when I realised something wasn't right and remembered that the last time I was struggling not to cry over absolutely nothing was when I had malaria. I went straight from the event to the hospital (not without being given two lunches to take away - mine and Simon's - each of which consisted of a whole roasted chicken and a litre of fruit juice!!).
I waited for two hours for my blood test results, to be told that I not only had malaria but also typhoid. I was prescribed four different types of drugs, two of which I opted to take (there seems to be a habit of over-prescribing here - multivitamins, vitamin C in many forms, regular painkillers). A short okada ride later (via the supermarket to stock up on chocolate!), I was home. And that's pretty much where I've stayed - either in bed or lying on the sofa - since then.
To be honest, apart from the headache, which became just a fuzzy head, and a bit of a sore throat, I haven't felt that sick - I didn't even have the telltale malaria fever; I've just been incredibly tired. The simplest of tasks - showering, getting dressed, even reading 20 pages of my book - have left me totally washed out.
Back at work today - still feeling a little woozy, and it's a bit of a shock to the system to be out and about again - but basically much better.
All the above, by way of an excuse for not posting.
