Health Update..

The good news is that Hailey and Micah have remained well the entire time that other people have gotten sick around here. The bad news is that I have both a parasite and a bacterial infection. I went in last week for a stool sample (which cost an entire $2 US) and was told that I have blastocytis hominis (which is a parasite). I was prescribed, well I should say given because there is not really such a thing as prescriptions in Honduras, a couple different types of medicine to fight the parasite and the infection. So far they seem to be working OK, as my stomach pains have mostly gone away and my bathroom visits seem to becoming much more "normal" than they had been for a couple weeks.

I knew before coming to Honduras that parasites and bacterial infections would be much more likely, but I guess I just didn't expect to be one of the lucky ones so quickly. We met with a guy in Nashville prior to leaving the US who had lived in Honduras for 10 years and lives with two parasites in his stomach that are incurable. He laughed when he told us and said, "The good thing is that I will never get fat and I get to eat for three!" I thought his sense of humor regarding something that seems so foreign and scary in the US was fairly weird, but I think I understand now.

While I appreciate the concern and the help that I have received from doctors, family, and friends back in the US (I really, honestly do), I am not so concerned. I know plenty of people (including excellent doctors) might tell me that I should be concerned, but I'm not. I figure that I will just keep doing the things that are in my control (take medicine, try to eat the right foods, wash my hands, etc.) and if the parasite dies, great, and if not then I have a friend for the rest of my life :) In all honesty, I think that Hailey and I are just that confident in what we are doing here in Honduras that a parasite just seems like part of the job. Plus, it gives me a little excuse to eat more of the food I really like ("I need to gain some weight back", or, "the parasite is extra hungry today"), and gives me a good excuse to not eat the food I don't really like ("The parasite is giving me an upset stomach", or, "the parasite is resistant to this type of food").

But in all seriousness, I am feeling quite a bit better and hope that this means once I'm done with my current medicines that I will be all better. Sometimes these kinds of things are pretty resistant to medicine and it can take a while to get rid of them, so hopefully that's not the case for me.