The plague

Hello readers,

Apologies for the delay in posting but we've had a little setback this week. We've been hit by the plague. By "plague" I mean flu season in Peru. As you can probably infer from this blog, it's winter in Cusco right now. It's cold, very very cold! It's also the peak of flu season, and as health care providers we've been exposed to patients with the flu at the clinic quite often.

The first to be hit was Marilyn. After I came back from Machu Picchu, I found out she had run a fever of 103F during the weekend. The fever and malaise continued until we decided to take her to get checked out at the clinic. Eventually she had to be hospitalized. Thankfully, as I type this she is back home and is on the mend. The nuns and everyone at the clinic were amazing!

The next target was Veronica. The poor dear also developed a fever after Marilyn and had to spend a couple of days at home recovering. Eventually we also took her to the clinic and she got a Z pack for an infection. She's also on the mend now.

In the meantime, Erick, Monsy, and I have been trying to hold down the fort. Now, however, Monsy is coughing up a storm and I am as well. It seems Erick is the last man standing (perhaps something to do with this Peruvian blood...). Throughout this entire process, the nuns have been incredible. They have taken excellent care of Marilyn in the hospital, and have sent home food for Veronica. I don't know if I've said it before, but just in case I'll say it now, those women restore my faith in humanity. They are the most selfless souls I've ever met.

I'm hoping to get better soon from whatever I have because 1) I have a scholarship interview via skype tomorrow at 4:30pm our time, and 2) Julia and I are supposed to head to Lake Titicaca this weekend. I've wanted to visit Lake Titicaca since my days studying fish in college, so I will be extremely disappointed if I can't make it. Cross your fingers that I can :).

Saludos,
Annelys