We almost made it...

We almost made it 5 months without a case of malaria.  Almost...  However, yesterday the nasty bug hit Miss Alyssa.  In the US, the word malaria rouses a lot of fear.  Its not something we're used to dealing with and can therefore go undiagnosed for too long.  But unfortunately, malaria is common place in Ghana.  Most of our American friends have had it at least once if not several times.  When malaria goes untreated, it can be very dangerous and even cause death.  Thankfully, here medication is readily available at any pharmacy for a relatively small price.  (Most of our Ghanaian friends who have been affected in some way by severe cases of malaria are because they can't afford or didn't have access to the proper medication.)  When Alyssa started showing symptoms yesterday (symptoms are similar to the flu -- fever, severe headache, sometimes vomiting), we were able to catch it early and get the medication in her system within a couple hours.  She showed noticeable improvement by bedtime and although she is still tired and has a headache, she is doing well this morning.  She is enjoying all the pampering from her family as she lounges on a bed in the living room sipping her flavored water and coloring pictures.  :)  She should be feeling even better by this afternoon and hopefully be back on her feet by tomorrow.  Please pray that the rest of our family doesn't get it.  Although malaria isn't contagious, it is possible that  multiple family members could have been bit by the same mosquito.  Malaria can lay dormant for different periods of time before it rears its ugly head.  We will be boarding the plane in 6 days (Apr 22) for the 26 hour journey back to the US.  Although we will be bringing malaria medication back with us just in case, it would not be a pleasant thing to deal with on the trip home.  Thank you for your prayer!

Kady reading Ally her Bible Time