As if being alone wasn't enough, her house family wasn't the best. They never fed Bronwin even though she paid them to cook for her. They used the money for themselves and left her to fend for herself.
There are a numerous amount of stories she told me, both good and bad. In my opinion the bad seemed to out weigh the good. Of course I wasn't there experiencing it with her. She firmly believes that coming to Tchad was the best experience. She wouldn't change it for the world.
Bronwin emphasized how not being able to work in the hospital was the greatest blessing of all. Most doctors get five minutes tops with each patient. How are you suppose to evangelize to them in such a short time. It is possible, but very hard because you can't form a relationship with them. Bronwin was able to form lasting relationships. She has become a Tchadian, instead of a nasara. (Reminder...nasara means foreigner in a derrogitory way).
That definitely gave me hope. I can be of use wherever I go. I just need to change my outlook on this trip. I accepted the facts. I was ready to do the work God intended for me. The devil probably realize my change of heart and started attacking me more.
I have had an extreme allergic reaction to.....I don't know what. At first, I only had hives on the back of my elbows and knees. These hives were the worst hives I have had in my life. (The bumps were twice the usual size...everything is bigger in Tchad right?) I have eczema in those areas, so I was already itchy. The hives just made the itchiness unbearable. My first layer of skin was easily scathed and peeled away as I scratched.
By day three of my allergic reaction the hives had spread. They were now all over my arms, on most parts of my legs, and my face. My eyes were like jumbo sized chocolate covered marshmallows, very puffy and abnormally big. And they burned!! I wanted to rip my eyes out!!
In addition to my hives problem, I have something on my scalp. At first, I thought my eczema had gotten bad and spread to my scalp, but boy was I wrong. On day two of insufferable itching I realized that there were big bumps on my head. They were very painful to touch. Not only was it imediate pain, I also got pressure headaches. I tried so hard not to touch my head. I didn't want anymore headaches, but I really wanted to scratch my head!! I was between a rock and a hard place.
Things got even worse by day five of the scalp problem. The bumps started oozing. The secretions would build up and plaster my hair to my scalp. No matter how much I washed my hair it smelled disgusting. (It was like someone had taken out their weave they had for 3 months and never properly washed it....thats how I smelt EVERYDAY!!!). I found out that Dr. Bland and his wife had a similar scalp problem, but never found the cause. The only difference was that my bumps hurt and theirs didn't.
Long story short, I have been itchy for the past week and haven't found the cause. I have lost the pigmentation on many parts of my body. I wake up in the middle of the night in pain from my dry, cracked, bloody skin. I am almost to the end of my rope, but I'm hanging on tight.
I stopped taking my malaria pills, hoping that is what I am reacting too... Please pray long and hard for me. I want the itching to stop, but I don't want to get malaria either. There are a few alternative optioons out there....we will see what happens.
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