A Glimpse... Malaria

Malaria is very common in our area and for that reason I’m very careful about mosquitos. I’ve never had it and so all I know is what I’ve been told, which is basically that it’s sort of a flu & head cold combination that effects everyone differently. But it’s easily treatable through over the counter medication that costs about $5. I thought as long as you caught it fast and took the medication it was not that big of a deal.

For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why so many people die from malaria in our area. I have noticed that if you feel a headache coming on people often say that is malaria… so any sign of sickness is thought of as malaria. Because of this thinking I wondered if people were dying from other undiagnosed issues and without proper medical evaluation they were just self-diagnosing with malaria.

Then about a month ago Nunu, my husband, was feeling ill. He went to the doctor, who confirmed it was malaria and Nunu began taking the medication. Little by little that week he was feeling better. We spoke on Sunday and he said he was doing well.

On Monday morning, I awoke to a Facebook message from one of our friends saying that he had taken Nunu to the hospital that morning. I found out that Nunu hadn’t slept well because he felt like someone was punching his stomach and he had the chills/sweats. Our friend went on to say that after 3 hours on IV and shots that Nunu was looking and feeling a lot better.

Nunu getting an IV at the clinic.

When I talked to Nunu I found out that his type of malaria was much more severe than typical. Don’t quote me on this, but I think the typical case of malaria is classified as level 1 and Nunu had level 3. The parasite (malaria) had spread to his liver and was therefore in his bloodstream. He spent one full day in the hospital, returned the following day for another IV and round of shots and then a nurse came out to the house for 5 days to administer shots.

Nunu had tried to go to the public hospital where he had been originally diagnosed, but the wait was so long and he didn’t feel confident in the care he would receive. At the clinic he received great care and was surprised at how nice the doctor was to him. In the end his medical bills were about $700, which he had to pay in full before leaving the office.

It might seem to you like this story is about Nunu but it’s not. By the time I even knew he was in the hospital, he had already been there for 7 hours and was very much on the mend. Sure it was scary, but as soon as I talked to him I was at peace. That is until I started thinking about our neighbors.

Minimum wage is about $150 a month, but many make less. So imagine not having health insurance and not being able to receive medical care until you could prove that you can pay a medical bill equivalent to 5 months of your salary.

It’s heart breaking.

But once again my compassion has been stretched, I have been given a glimpse into the lives of so many in our village.

From the beginning I’ve said that water and electricity will come in God’s perfect time. Honestly I wondered just how God would use this season to teach me and stretch me. Whether we get running water and electricity tomorrow or in a couple years, I will always be able to look back on this time when my compassion was stretched and my faith grew in ways I didn’t know possible.

I believe this is a bold and powerful prayer. I challenge you to say it until you see results. When God answers this prayer, you will know it. If I had to guess when I first prayed this prayer, I would say that I was probably living in the states working in an architecture firm not even knowing where Mozambique was on the map. Boy have my eyes been opened!! 

Open up my eyes to the things unseen.

Show me how to love like You have loved me.

Break my heart for what breaks Yours.