House Call

We had a bit of a scare last night: Gusi had a fever. Normally I wouldn't think twice before reaching for his medicine, but here you have to wonder: could it be malaria? A telltale sign of malaria is a high fever. Of course, I am just getting over some bug that has been going around and apparently this same bug has spread like wildfire among the kids at the International School of Dakar (ISD) who then take it home to their younger siblings and parents (and on to play dates with folks like me in attendance).

Gusi was feeling a bit warm around 2pm but he was his same cheery self. Then around 5pm he was feeling really hot. PapaGus was home and we took his temperature. It was 102. We immediately worried about malaria even though Gusi is taking prophylaxis and sleeps in an air conditioned room. We even have the malaria treatment in syrup form so if Gusi does come down with malaria we have his medicine on hand. But, where would we get a blood smear to make sure he has malaria? And given that I had just come down with a virus (though no fever), I thought it was probable that it was another bug and not malaria. Still, how could you be sure?

We called the US Embassy doctor, who's wife is a friend of mine, and asked where we could take Gusi to get a blood smear on a Friday night during Korite. He said we should just bring Gusi by his house so he could take a look. We explained that we would need to take a taxi since our car isn't here yet (gggrrrrrr) so it could take a while since Dakar is all but emptied out. He told us not to worry, he would stop by the house. Huh? An American doctor making a house call? Well, we do have a small child who is sick and taking a taxi to and from his house would be difficult at best on a night like this, so wow, ok, we'll wait for him to show up.

Show up he did, in shorts, a polo shirt and loafers with a small black satchel in his hand. When we opened the door I had the feeling of being in an old movie with the doctor on my door step. I couldn't help but feel it was some type of outer body experience. He took a look at Gusi's ears, nose and throat and said that it was the same thing going around--everyone is getting it and it's not malaria. No blood smear? No. No waiting in line late at night in a clinic where no one speaks English? No. Wow.

We gave Gusi some more medicine before he went to bed and even though he was feeling a bit punky, he slept pretty well. He woke up at 4am wanting to eat pasta, had some, and then went back to sleep for a few hours. Ironically enough, we are supposed to have dinner tonight at the doctor's house so Gusi will get a follow up visit without us ever having to make an appointment, and therein lies my peace of mind. Somehow life in Dakar seems easier already.