the dengue fever

So I've been MIA with my postings, but I have a good excuse: A day and a half after our lovely swearing-in ceremony, the event that made me an official PCV, I woke up feeling achy and feverish. After two days of this fever and pain, a Peace Corps Medical Officer (PCMO) called me in for a blood test. That particular blood test was #1 of 8 (yes, EIGHT) that I would have in 7 days. Although the test did not show it for several days, they were certain that I had dengue fever. For the first time in my life I was hospitalized and given an IV. I stayed in the hospital for 5 long, feverish days where I spent most of the time sleeping and the rest of the time trying to use my faulty nurse call button because my IV was beeping. I remember one particular night of fever when I played with the nurse call button for close to an hour and a half!
The dengue caused my liver to swell, so I had a sonogram (also a first, though fairly uneventful). Somehow the swelling liver made my appetite obsolete, so I hardly ate all week (again, a first for me!). The IV kept me alive and hydrated, but also made me pee alot, and thanks to my weakened state, (again a first!) I had to use a bed pan, assisted by a nurse. I was woken up every morning at 5:30 on the dot for a blood test, and then spent my days trying to doze.
When the fever finally subsided I was greeted with a lovely full body rash that itches like crazy. At this point, the rash is settling down a bit and my energy is slowly coming back. I am staying at the Pension, a guest house in the Capital, and should be able to head to my site tomorrow... only a week and a half late! I was told to expect about a month of feeling tired. Good fun with tropical illness!
FAQs about dengue:
How'd you get it? From some tiny little mosquito during the day (dengue mosquitos are day feeders, malaria mosquitos feed only at night)
Why didn't Peace Corps vaccinate you? There is no vaccination for dengue
Now do you have dengue forever or are you immune, like chicken pox? nope, I could get it again tomorrow.
Is it contagious? It's spread only by mosquitos
What about other PCVs? I think that last year about 30 PCVs in the DR got it. It's just the thing to do I suppose!
Anyway, I survived. I am so grateful to the excellent PCMOs that provided great physical and moral support.... and thank you to all of you for your emails, text messages and phone calls. They were a huge morale booster.