the kampala diaries: day(s) 9, 10, & 11- "under the weather...."

Sorry for the blogging hiatus. It's been QUITE the last 3 days. And by that I mean... I've either been flat on my back or in the fetal position for about 22.5 hours out of each of them.

Remember that car crash we got into last Friday? I woke up on Saturday, and my back was in intense pain. To the point that I couldn't move from my back that entire day. My appetite was totally gone, and by the end of the night, I was on Skype with my family, in tears, not sure what to do. Far away from hospitals and American doctors, my parents advised me to let my professors know and to ask for a blessing on top of Ibuprofen...

After alerting Jenn of my situation, she gave me a soft back rub and checked for any bruising from the crash. (Most of the guys were out because it was the weekend). At this point, I could feel my body starting to do weird things... and I could feel that I needed to get back to my apartment- SOON.

So, I left. This is when the tossing-my-cookies marathon began. Jenn had been sick a few days previous and thought that the virus might have passed to me. And boy, it passed with a vengance... For 48 hours I barely even noticed my back pain, because the fetal position was the only way to avoid stomach cramps and another trip to the bathroom....

Basically, it's been a long movie marathon under my bed net for the last 2 days, complete with Sprite, filtered water (which I'm sick of), and professors checking on me and offering to take me to the clinic run by a British doctor. 

Best movie I saw all weekend.
Unnecessary profanity from his trainer,
but heroic fathering at its finest.

Luckily, the massive rainstorm yesterday sent the goats, dogs, and all of the noise making machines inside for a few hours, and I finally felt a little calm. 

I'm so grateful for Priesthood holders who were able to give me a blessing on Sunday morning, and for the comfort it gave me, even if my healing wasn't immediate. This was a humbling experience, and probably one that I needed to have in hindsight (as much as I hated it). Because, the whole time I kept thinking about going home, about being back in the comforts of my American healthcare system, with my family, medicine, food, clean water, etc., etc. But about yesterday I realized that the original plan was not to come here for myself, but for the girls I'm trying to serve. This experience is never going to be what it's supposed to if I keep on focusing on how things are different from America, or how much I miss it. The time will pass so quickly, and those things will be right back at my fingertips again.

I'm back up to about 65% today, so maybe I'll be a bit more productive today. In the meantime, will you pray for the other students who have caught the bug? This is a gnarly virus that's going around, and we can't wait until it's done with!