Short notice

Only a few days after returning to Bormase, I learned that I had been named the new Eastern Region VAC representative and would be attending a 3 day conference in Accra 3 days later. After a month away from site I was leaving again for at least three days.

Before leaving for Accra, I enjoyed the unique experience of attending a PTA meeting at a Ghanaian Secondary School. I don't think I convinced anyone that I was a parent but I did my best to take accurate notes for Dorothy and Emmanuel. Raphael will soon take exams that should allow him to enter his third and final year in as a Secondary School student. Manya Krobo Secondary School (Makrosec) is one of the top schools in the region and is quite pricy as Ghanaian schools go. Given the price of the school, it was no surprise to find myself in a room full of "big men and big women." Many people who like to be heard in one room can lead to a lot of talking without much progress. There was much chatter about the outstanding tuition payments (total of 27,000 Ghana Cedis. A lot considering a one month summer school session costs 20 Ghana Cedis per student). Many recent graduates took the floor to lecture current students on the importance of an education. They were surprised by how hard it is to get a good job if you aren't accepted into University. The meeting was scheduled to start at 9am. I arrived at roughly 9:30 and was one of the first ten to arrive. By 2pm, the bickering had stopped and it was time to see Raph's school.

First, Raphael showed me his room. His bunk was one of 66 in the room. I counted 33 sets of bunk beds with no more than 3 or 4 feet between each set. This dorm room was one of three male dorm rooms on campus. I was introduced to many friends and got to see some of the facilities but due to the length of the meeting I wasn't able to stay long. I had to leave in time to help Travis transplant seedlings before he left for 3 weeks in Greece.

Back in Bormase the next day by noon, I ate, slept for two hours, ate, slept for two hours, ate dinner, bathed and went to sleep. I was sneezing a lot but didn't feel too bad. I thought I may just be tired from so much running around.

I arrived in Accra late Monday afternoon and was still quite lethargic. I joined a number of other VAC reps (including Cheri as the Northern Region rep) for a huge Lebanese buffet in honor of a birthday. After a wonderful dinner of kebabs, falafel, hummus, babaganoush and a wide selection of fresh fruit, the majority of our group went out on the town. Cheri and I called it a night as she was exhausted from a 12 hour travel day and I was still not 100%. A DVD player and air conditioning made for a relaxing night but by the time I went to sleep I was wheezing and couldn't take a full breath.

Tuesday was intended for a simple pre-vac meeting amongst volunteers and a nice BBQ at the Country Directors house. It was Ghanaian Republic Day so the medical unit was closed and I wasn't able to check with the PCMO (sadly, I think I've already had to explain this acronym) upon arrival at the office. After a few hours of coughing and wheezing, I was urged to call the PCMO on call and ask if I could be checked out. Cynthia arrived around fifteen minutes after the pre-vac meeting began and tests began.

I had no fever but was clearly short of breath and had a high pitched whine in my lungs when listened to through a stethoscope. When told to blow into a tube to test my lung strength, I consistently reached 320 when 640 should have been my normal score (not quite sure what the numbers represent). I was given claritin, several puffs of an inhaler and two treatments of albuterol (a medicinal mist used to reduce bronchial swelling) but showed no improvement in lung strength.

At 2pm, Cynthia left for lunch and I rejoined the pre-vac meeting with a scheduled follow up with Cynthia scheduled for 4pm. The pre-vac meeting ended as I sat down, leaving me pretty much clueless regarding the agenda for the following day but with my energy level as low as it was, I wasn't too worried. I was just hoping to gain enough strength do be able to enjoy chili, bocce ball and ping pong at Bob's house.

By 4pm, I was clearly developing a fever as I sat bundled up in the computer room with a scarf wrapped around my head while others complained that the AC wasn't high enough. Cynthia found that I had a fever of just over 100 degrees and my lung strength was diminishing. Since it was a holiday and no clinics were open, we were off to the hospital!!! I was as shocked as anyone when I had to tell my fellow volunteers that I was headed to the hospital rather than the feast at Bob's house.

Cynthia and I arrived at the hospital at around 5pm and after a few tests, I was clearly getting worse. My pulse was 100 when I arrived but up to 118 within the first hour. I was breathing at three times the normal rate and my blood oxygen level was at 93 percent (99-100 is normal, below 90 is extremely bad). After a chest X-ray and a bit of miscommunication, Cynthia and I sat in the ER waiting for blood to be drawn and for the X-ray to be read. Apparently I was supposed to have had blood drawn immediately after my X-ray so no staff knew that I was waiting. The fifteen minute wait felt like an eternity as I constantly shifted from sitting to laying down, trying to find a position in which I could breathe. No matter how much I shifted, I couldn't catch my breath and I was actually getting scared.

A doctor, a nurse and a nurse's assistant arrived and fumbled around to get things in order. I was given an oxygen feed which brought my blood oxygen content up to 95 percent but none of the staff were aware that I hadn't had blood drawn and upon finding out, they were ready to send me back across the hospital for blood work. The doctor eventually decided that it was OK if they did the blood work where we were and I watched as a small vial was balanced below the needle in my arm in order to catch enough blood to test. When my doctor left with my blood sample, the nurse and nurse's assistant struggled to assemble an albuterol mask that neither had ever seen. I did my best not to lose faith as the round peg in round hole contraption was finally figured out.

My oxygen feed was removed and a mask was put over my mouth for another albuterol treatment. Within minutes, I was able to take deep breaths and felt infinitely better. During my second albuterol treatment, Cheri arrived with a tupperware full of chili, only to find me with an oxygen mask, an IV and an oxygen monitor attached to my body.

After the second treatment, the X-ray and blood results arrived. The X-ray showed nothing but the blood results showed a VERY high white blood cell count. It was decided that I had pneumonia and I was given a strong antibiotic drip.

I was out of the hospital by 8:30pm with a box of antibiotics and was able to breathe relatively. I was able to attend the VAC meeting the following day but wasn't especially active in conversation.

A follow up X-ray is scheduled for tomorrow. Apparently, pneumonia isn't visible on X-ray until 2-3 days after the initial signs of illness.

For now, I'm eating as well as possible, watching movies and getting a great ab workout from all the coughing I'm doing. Cheri has been nice enough to stick around and help take care of me but she's had terrible allergies so we're quite a pair. We ventured out to get food last night while she was groggy from heavy allergy meds and I got winded with anything more than a snails pace.

Today I feel much better and will make updates when necessary.

I brought in New Years with poop in my pants and blood on my face. The 4th of July will involve recovery from pneumonia. Can't wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas!!!!

Love to all.