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My name is Julie,
I'm an assistant professor in the Department of International Health.
And when I was working on my PhD dissertation research,
I lived in Zambia on and off for about 9 to 11 months that year.
And while I was there, I had this beautiful apartment that I was staying in,
and then there was hardly any mosquitoes around, and I didn't have any problems.
And then I came home for a little bit, and when I went back,
I didn't have that option anymore.
And I ended up staying at the NGO that I was working with.
And I actually ended up sleeping on a mattress on the floor in the office,
that was our study office.
And I had a bed net and I was taking Malarone.
But, the mosquito control efforts in that area were not
as rigorous as where I'd been living before.
And either I forgot a Malarone pill or the prophylaxis didn't work,
but I ended up contracting malaria.
And it hit me hard when I was out in the field collecting data with
a team of about 8 people, who are around 17 to 21 years of age.
It was young group, we were working on adolescence study, and I got very sick.
And it was clear to everybody that I had malaria.
And they called our trusted taxi driver, Mr.
Peary, and told them where they could pick me up, and I walked over to this area.
And on the way, [LAUGH] walking over there this woman was so kind to me,
she kept saying come to my home.
Just somebody in the community.
Come to my home, you're sick, come with me.
And I refused to go because I was just horrified at the idea of
getting upset to my stomach in someone's home.
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Not being able to clean up after myself, and
not even knowing if she had running water.
How hard would it be for her?
So I kept saying no, no, no.
In Zambia it's hard to say no to people,
especially when you're invited to their home, but I was pretty insistent.
So she let me go,
but what I didn't know at the time is that she had this little boy follow me.
[LAUGH] I think to see if I pass out or anything.
So I go and I sit in this one spot waiting for the taxi driver and
this little boy is just sitting there next to me.
And he's clearly not very happy to have to do that,
but he hung out with me until the taxi driver came.
I don't remember the ride back to the NGO.
When I got there, the woman who was running the NGO came out and
looked at me and called somebody else to take me to the clinic.
And at that point I'm really not that functional.
I'm really very sick, I'm in the midst of it.
And we get to the clinic and the doctor, she was Cuban.
And I just remember that standing out in my mind.
She tested me right there and then.
And that's the beauty of it, because they can rapidly diagnose malaria.
And she tested me, said I had malaria, and that she was going to give me some
medication, and that I needed to go home, and just rest for a couple of days.
And the woman who took me there, said well,
there's nobody at home to take care of her, she needs to stay here.
So they admitted me to the facility.
I was there for about three days, and I really don't remember much about it.
And you have to remember, this is a time when the prevalence in Zambia was around 1
in 4 people living with HIV.
The blood supply is not safe, needles are in short supply.
I went to a very good facility that was quite expensive.
It would have been unaffordable for most of the people living in that community.
But I really needed an advocate there for me,
to make sure that I was being taken care of well.
And I was fortunate through the friends and
the people that I'd gotten to know there, that they really did take care of me.
I was there for about three or four days.
And when I was released, I went back to the NGO.
And again, there was just sort of an international group working there,
a lot of volunteers.
And people really took care of me, bringing me tons of avocado to eat.
[LAUGH] Mr. Peary, the taxi driver, would bring me five avocados every day, and
say you have to eat it.
because I lost so much weight and was severely anemic at the time.
And that really also gave me insight into what it's like to live with anemia, and
to try to function, and
cognitive abilities when you are anemic, and how slow you can be.
It kind of helped me understand
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some of the challenges people are facing on a daily basis.
So I think some of the key messages that I would want to convey, through this story
is really the need to think through your housing, and where you're going to be.
Definitely take your prophylaxis and try not to miss any doses.
Even then, have a network of friends, know where the facilities,
who your advocates can be.
So if something does come up unexpected,
you have the support you need while you're overseas.
Anna KalbarczykResearch Associate
