I Blame Dakar

So the last time I came back from Dakar (which was after my infamous root canal incident), I had “the fungus” on my back. We call it “the fungus” because lots of volunteers get it and I don’t think anyone knows the actual name for it, anyways. It looks like blotchy white spots on your skin. It doesn’t itch or anything. I’ve heard several rumors about how you can get it, ranging from bathing in well water to sharing towels. I was doing neither of these things in the med hut in Dakar but when I got back to Guinea, I had “the fungus”. You treat it by washing the affected area with dandruff shampoo. It makes your towel smell like sulfur for months after.

THIS time after getting back from Dakar, I am having a host of skin issues. First there was the obvious second degree burns around my eyes, but I can’t blame Dakar for that, only my own idiocy. Then there are the two sores that won’t heal – one on each heel, one of which has been there for like 7 weeks now. Can’t blame Dakar for those either. But I CAN blame Dakar for the multiple staph (maybe?) infections and the weird lump in my armpit that Dr. Dawn today told me I should start taking antibiotics for. Woo. Hoo.

I blame Dakar.

So only one of the staph infections is still rearing it’s ugly head, the others have all gone away pretty easily. This lump thing though? I started to notice a lump under my skin in my armpit as we were leaving Senegal. It has gotten steadily larger since then. And redder. And firmer. And more painful. Last night I was tossing and turning all night just trying to find a comfortable position. I woke up in pain several times throughout the night. I can’t really close my arm because it hurts and if I have managed to close my arm, opening it back up hurts, too. Lifting my water bucket hurts. Sitting around doing nothing hurts. So I finally texted Dr. Dawn and described the issue and she was like, “well, I’m going to see you on Monday (going to the dentist again YAY!!!), but you should start taking your erithromicin and put warm compresses on it 3x a day.” I’m like awesome.

I blame Dakar.

At least this erithro will clear up any other lingering skin issues that are still hanging on. So there’s something, at least.

I’m going to the dentist on Monday because my upper right molar, second from the back, is giving me sporadic pain, mostly when chewed on. I was just going to avoid dealing with it because ignorance is bliss, but I was already talking to Dr. Dawn about other stuff so I mentioned it. It has a crown. Which means it has been root canaled. Which means it shouldn’t be giving me any more trouble. So for a minute I’m thinking it’s suspicious, then I run my tongue up over my gums and I feel it. This tiny, grain-of-sand sized little bump. And it all comes flooding back. This has happened before. A tooth that I had root canaled years ago suddenly had this same little bump on the gum. The bump kinda grew and I kinda ignored it until I was in to see my dentist and she noticed it. And sent me to my root canal dentist. Who told me I had an abcess. Or something. Basically the root canal wasn’t done super good and an infection had been festering inside the roots for YEARS since I had it done. The bump was pus trying to get out. It was deteriorating my jaw bone. Gross. So there are three options for dealing with this: do the root canal again, cut open the gums from the top and clean it out that way, pull the tooth and get an implant. None of these are cheap. I ended up going with option A. Which did not have a guarantee of working. I don’t know if this is the same tooth or not, but I think this time I’m going to go with option C. And take my dental issues to a whole new level with an implant.

But hey, maybe that’s not what’s going on, here. If it is, they’ll send me back to Dakar. And we all know what happens to me when I come back from THERE.

Someday I’ll have a clean bill of health again. Someday.

But while I’m waiting, I’ll still blame Dakar.