Who will be my Valentine when my foot is oozing multi-colored puss?

Yeah, my foot is a wreck, and I felt I should give those concerned a medical update. A week or so ago, I began to notice a tremendous amount of bites on my feet. Despite my best efforts, I did not have the willpower to stop from scratching the bites on occasion. As a result, I opened some of the bites enough and it was exposed to bacteria at some point. Towards the end of last week, I was running a fever and my foot began to swell. The infected areas began to ooze and were extremely painful. It progressively worsened through the weekend until Saturday when I was told by the Peace Corps medical staff to get on a bus for Windhoek as quickly as possible. So, I hobbled my way onto a 15-hour, overnight bus ride to the capital city. I can’t recall a time recently that I have been more uncomfortable. At that point, my entire foot and part of my leg was swollen and there was an infinite amount of pain. On top of that, it was oozing multi-colored puss and I was running a fever. Very sexy. I was happy to arrive Monday morning in Windhoek and receive medical care. It turns out I have a staph infection, which was not a surprise to the Peace Corps nurse when she heard where I lived. I am on antibiotics. I have to soak my foot in hot water and other stuff every morning for nearly an hour, and then it is wrapped up after being covered in medicine. I was on crutches for two days, but I can walk on my foot now because the swelling is down. However, I am told I will not return to my site until the infection is completely cleared, which means I might be here for another week or so. I must say, the “sick bay” (the apartment where sick PCVs are kept) is a treat. There is hot running water, air conditioning, a full kitchen and a TV. I took two showers yesterday. It was fabulous. I made myself a cheeseburger. It was mouthwatering. I watched soccer on TV. It was exciting.

On top of that, Chris arrived in Namibia this week and I will see him tomorrow. The Peace Corps nurse said I could go with him for a few days, but I have to change my own dressing and take it easy. We are making plans to lounge at the pool, which sounds perfect.

So, for all those wondering what exactly was going on with Tina’s foot, you now know. I am healing. Keep in mind that I am new to village living and I must learn how to maintain my health in a different way than I did in Colorado. It’s a learning process, for sure. I am bound to make mistakes, and I do not plan to make this particular one again.