God's Papalotes
Sometimes medical remedies come in the form of kites or "papalotes"
We all felt quite sick in Tabasco. We took turns spending the night vomiting. A distressing set of symptoms persisted after a high fever, vomiting and dizziness and achiness and a rash which was short lived. After these acute symptoms subsided, there was generalized achiness, drowsiness, with headache and dizziness and epistaxis or bloody noses. Mosquitoes were very common and seemed to enjoy our new flavor of blood. We had bites all over. Next time I go down, I am taking more mosquito rings for our ankles and wrists while we sleep. These are fascinating, glow in the dark rings that are impregnated with Citronella.
I saw so many in clinic with the same symptoms we were experiencing. The days passed and there was a deepening depression and sleepiness that plagued Kyle daily. He slept day and night and did not have strength to go anywhere. After 4 days of not eating, I declared a day where we would be alone on the beach. Violent crimes had our friends worried to allow us to be alone. I insisted it was necessary to bring Kyle to eat again. I packed breakfast and they found us with a lunch.
Though we did not get blood work to verify the fact, I think we all had a touch of the same problem plaguing the region we were in. Dengue Fever.
I determined that if fun
on the beach did not make him recover I would stop and go home. I hoped playing
with a kite, swimming in the ocean and hunting for shells did not turn him
around, I would stop work and head home. He was very irritable at first. Yet
soon things went very well and he was eating the picnic breakfast. He loved the
shells and creatures he discovered and it lifted him onto the road of
recovery.
The
wind was perfect for flying kites. It was fun. We flew them very high. One time
the wind took the string from us and we were lucky because the kite fell to the
earth for us. The mouth of the catepillar was opening and shutting like a fish
as the air sailed through it. It was so cute. Jenny did mouth to mouth resuscitation
on the papalote. The therapy of time in the sun, resting and playing together
brought the joy we needed to continue with our work.
There
were so many shells all along the beach. Without shoes on they cut the feet.
The day on the beach refreshed us all.
I praised God and prayed for a sign if I should go ahead with another series they wanted in Campeche or head home at the completion of our third series of meetings. We had been gone from home for almost 2 months and we were all home sick. At the school the electricity had been cut and my projector could not show the topic for the day. I asked God to do His miracle and provide as He had done so many times in India. If He chose not to do it, I would take it as a sign that I should head on home at the close of the meetings on the island. There was no help for two days in a row. These were the last two days so I concluded it was time to head on home instead of doing another series in Campeche two hours drive into the Yukaton. It also was along the coast. Another place asking for us was Cozumel.
