Rainy Season Joys...

... yes, it is true that we enjoy the cool, cloudy weather. It is also true that we are thankful for the abundance of rain (at least for this part of the world) that we have received this year. But, rainy season also brings with it some irritations and some more than irritations. Wet sand that is tracked in the house, ends up in your bed and even sometimes in your bread - that is an irritation that becomes wearying by the end of the rains. We frequently have colds/sinus issues - sneezes and runny noses abound. More seriously, diseases like malaria, typhoid and dysentery are also more common - malaria and dysentery being two of the top causes of death for children under the age of 5. And then, there are all the parasites that live in the soil, that our children love to dig and play in as well as skin maladies like infantigo/impetigo - whichever you choose to call it...

We are battling three of these things right now. Rebekah was in to the clinic the Thursday night after having run a temp every night for 4 nights. When her temp went up to 103 (it was 104'F/40'C by the time we saw the dr. at the clinic), I decided we needed to have her checked out. Turns out she has malaria and her blood work also indicated some type of infection somewhere... I'm figuring that is a result of infantigo that we've been treating with topical ointments for a couple of weeks now. So, she is now also following a treatment of oral antibiotics and one for malaria. So far tonight, she is fever free for the first time since last Monday night - YEAH!!!

We've also since discovered that she has hookworm, as does Elsie Mae. No, this picture is not an actual picture of one of "their" worms - this whole worm thing really turns my tummy, especially when pregnant, so it is all I can do to treat it - but thought some of you might find it interesting. :-) So far, we've just been treating the symptoms - but will head to the pharmacy some time tomorrow to see if we can get a real treatment that should clear it up, as I finally now know the name of what I need to buy and the dosage appropriate for a little one. That should take care of things pretty quickly then!

There is a positive to this minor hookworm epidemic we are currently experiencing, however. Apparently they are researching using hookworms to prevent allergies??? Check out the this article, if you are curious to know more.

On a totally different note - I'm hoping to post some this week about Elsie Mae's birthday picnic, Rebekah's horseback riding lessons and Ladies' Bible study on Saturday... so many ideas, so little time.