Yeah...I got sick.

I hesitated writing a post this week because it would be about nothing but illness.  How boring.  But I guess this is something that God had in mind for this week so I suppose I should write about it.  It’s been a crazy week, and even though I’ve been fighting discouragement, I feel like I’ve been given a lot of grace to match.

It started last Saturday when Laura started feeling sick.  I woke up on Sunday morning feeling quite ill, and it got worse from there.  Our symptoms started out the same – fever, headache, and some nausea for me, and from there it snowballed.  Apparently Typhoid can have different symptoms and different levels of severity.  Laura and I both took the oral vaccine before we got to India, and although it’s not as effective as we hoped (obviously), it did prevent us from getting a more severe case.  We went to the hospital on Tuesday and were given antibiotics, so that should keep us from getting worse.  We were told by the doctor that it could take up to a week to even start feeling better.  Awesome.

My main complaint now is severe fatigue.  I can’t walk very far, and my legs continually feel like they’re going to give out on me.  We both generally feel bad with no better way to describe it, but thankfully no more nausea (yay!!!).  We walked around for about 15 minutes yesterday, and I had to go back to my room to lie down because I felt like I was going to faint.  Very frustrating and discouraging for someone who used to run five miles daily.  Although, this sickness not only varies in symptoms but also in strength depending on time of day.  We usually feel okay in the mornings, but by afternoon we’re both back in bed.

So that’s my physical sob story.  Emotionally, we vary depending on the time of day.  We are keeping each other laughing and encouraged by making fun of ourselves, so typically we’re in high spirits.  We laugh about getting our butts kicked by a 200 year old illness, and how it's almost embarrassing how quickly I got sick. Spiritually, we are trusting and persevering. Thank you so much for all your prayers and thoughts.  They make a very evident difference; we can see it on a daily basis.

So as far as location, we left Mussoorie for a few days in order to avoid any more contact with typhoid germs.  There are a few people that have it in our guesthouse, so in order for us to get better and to avoid getting John sick, figured the best thing to do would be to leave.  We’re in Chandigarh, about 100 miles away, and we’ll be here for the next 4-5 days.

Hopefully by this time next week I’ll be completely better.  Hopefully!  I want to get back to the reason I came here.  So more pictures and posts about India to come….hopefully this is the last post exclusively about me.  But again I emphasize, thank you for praying and for asking about me and checking up on me.  It is very encouraging to know that people care about you when you’re sick and thousands of miles from home.  Keep praying! :)  Miss you all!