Sakit

(If you are here for a photo, scroll down.)

Well... It has happened. The Nixons have been infected with their first Sumbanese virus. It was bound to happen. We are living in a new place and we have our very own germ incubator. Toddlers bring home so many interesting bugs wherever you live. Colby seems relatively unscathed by the whole affair, so he might not be typhoid Mary after all. He has had some intestinal issues and doesn’t seem so interested in food, otherwise he is his normal crazy self.

Chris’s bout with this particular virus seems to have been fast and furious. He had a raging fever on Sunday and spent most of the day in bed. On Monday, he was still feeling pretty sluggish and had a viral lytic rash starting on his torso. By Tuesday, he was feeling okay, but he was covered in a prickly red rash. The night brought some joint pain, but he was feeling well enough to surf Wednesday afternoon.

I would characterize my battle with this little bug as slow and steady. No fever for me, just an overall lethargy and arthritic joints since Sunday. I actually didn’t think I was sick - just tired from taking care of Chris, Colby and the house on Sunday (no helpers on Sundays). Monday, I started to break out with a little rash on my stomach. Tuesday when I awoke, I too was covered from head to toe by a bright red rash. Since we only have one small mirror in the bath, I was unaware of my altered appearance until I sat down for breakfast and Esty (Colby’s nanny) gasped. This gasp was followed by the declaration, “Oh mum! Merah!” My beautiful rash hung on through Thursday afternoon. It was a little itchy, but not as bad as the chicken pox when I was a kid. It seems to have cleared now leaving behind only a few itchy nodules on my hands and feet. They only thing left is some pain and slight adema in my joints. It is not easy to use the facilities here if you can’t bend your knees.

This virus also attacked the other member of our epidemiology team, Pak Kamilus, and we found out that one of Pak Gerson’s (our local guide) children was ill this past weekend as well. Given that so many of us from our group was sick it is likely that it passed person to person and not from a mosquito, which rules out the big viruses around here (Dengue fever and malaria).

So boys and girls, what have we learned from this experience? Wash your hands frequently even when trekking around a tribal village in the middle of the jungle. Perhaps, the world should consider swapping bows or curtsies instead of handshakes or high-fives. What about a little wink and a finger-gun?