Agony

Greetings.

Well, here I am back in Cotonou, this time to visit the med unit. I have a ruptured eardrum. AGONY, I tell you, agony. How did I do it? I had a minor cold last week and woke up on Thursday morning at like 1am with my ear all plugged up. In my half asleep state I was blowing and popping and doing all kinds of assorted ear gymnastics to try to clear it out, which I did, sort of, and went back to sleep. When I woke up that morning it was sore but not terrible, like 'wow, I must have really gone at it last night' type of sore, but I took some ibuprofen and went on with the day thinking it would fade over time. Friday it was worse in the morning and I thought about calling the Med unit but it seemed to get a little better. I really didn't want to go to Cotonou again if I could at all help it, I had just been there, I only have 50 days left to enjoy my post and Benin, travel in this country is terrible, etc. So anyway, it felt like it might be getting better on Friday night but then at 1am on Saturday morning I woke up with a fever and absolute AGONY. The worst pain I have ever felt in my life, including when I had shoulder surgery. I couldn't lay there it was so painful. I took a whole bunch of ibuprofen and started throwing stuff in a bag, knowing I had to go to Cotonou on the first bus that morning. At one point I tried to go back to sleep with no luck, too much pain, I had to get up and move around to try to distract myself from the pain. So yes, at 3am on Saturday morning you would have found me cleaning out my armoire and crying. Good times.

So anyway, I got on the first bus and got down here, the doctor met my bus and the minute I saw him I burst into tears. It was a horrible bus ride and I had managed to keep my tears inside until that moment. Ha. Anyway, he took me directly to an ear, nose, and throat specialist here in Cotonou who put me on two different antibiotics and prescription strength ibuprofen. He also gave me something to help me sleep as I was a total mess at that point, having not slept since 1am!

So anyway, there you have it. Last night was still pretty painful but I was able to get some decent sleep, so even though I'm in alot of pain this morning I'm in a better place, mentally, and can deal with it. The painkillers take the edge off but it's still pretty bad. They tell me that when the infection clears up the pain should subside but it takes a long time to actually heal. I'm glad I don't have to fly anywhere for nearly two months because that would be horrible!

The other big problem is that my ear is very swollen and my jaw is now out of alignment and hurts, too... so I can't chew. So even though I have access to decent food here I can't eat anything. Lame.

Moral of the story? DON'T RUPTURE YOUR EARDRUM. Ever. But especially in Africa. :)

Peace. K