Eila not-so-in the field

It has been a long, long time since I’ve posted, but now I’m back up to the task of writing again. Here’s an update on what’s been happening:

On September 29^th of last year I headed out to the baboons like any other day. When we set out from the truck towards the baboons they were already on the move away from their sleeping site. So we began our hiking chase to catch up. Before long my legs were feeling very heavy and I told Megan that I’d catch up when I could (she was itching to get the day started and my slow pace was holding her back). I sat down a few times to rest, but eventually made it to the baboons. I started my data day and began a focal. I can’t remember why, but I had to do my focals on paper instead of on my palm. It was pretty dry and the babs were on the move to gather their foods. I remember asking them very nicely to sit down for a minute and give me a break, but they were not in a sedentary mood. Then I started a focal on a young male, I think it was Jamaica, that finally sat down to forage. I was relieved to be able to sit down for a minute and quickly grabbed a rock. Not even a minute later he stood up and walked away. And that was it. I lifted my pen to record his movement and was so exhausted by this that I burst into tears. I tried to get up to follow him, but found I could no longer muster the energy to move my body that much. So I aborted my focal and just sat there.

That was the beginning of the mysterious illness that plagued me for over 8 months. I saw doctors in Nairobi, Michigan, and eventually the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. I was prodded and scanned and interviewed repeatedly by internists, infectious disease specialists, neurologists, and psychiatrists. I had so many blood samples taken that scar tissue formed in the crease of my elbow. After a hundred or more negative results across 7 months I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and attended a 12-hour workshop on self-management tools at the Mayo Clinic. My daily schedule was to include meditation, deep breathing, and vitamins on top of my already exhausting graded exercise program and what tried to be a good diet (though when food is the most diverse part of your day it’s hard to monitor and limit your choices all the time). I was also put on a single dose of antibiotics for the first time for a possible eye infection (a strange recurring inflammation). The antibiotics made my guts writhe, but after a couple days my head seemed to clear and I was bursting with energy for the first time in almost 8 months. I didn’t want to jinx myself, so I continued all of the other recommended practices and tried not to push myself as much as I wanted. A week passed and I started to get a little confident that I had passed through the worst and was back to my old self. Weak, sure, but will all the energy I would need to recondition myself and get back to my beloved baboons.

Then I woke up on day 11 feeling dizzy, not too bad, but just enough to make me cautious. By mid-afternoon I was as exhausted as ever with a heaviness in my limbs that told me I was back where I started. I still continued my exercise as much as I could, meditated, did my breathing, and tried not to be completely devastated. I went back to a couple doctors and finally got a longer dose of the same antibiotics to empirically treat the recurrence of my symptoms. On day 3 of the 6-day treatment I was bouncing off the walls again and haven’t crashed since. It seems incredible, looking back, that after all that time of feeling horrible, it seemed to come down to a relatively quick dose of meds or maybe an awesome placebo effect. Either way, I’m back!  And in mid-July I returned to Kenya.

I would like to make a quick note of thanks here to all the people who helped me through this trying time: First, to Joan and Shirley who were more than supportive and patient with my illness and my limits, I would have given up if it weren’t for you wonderful ladies. Many thanks also to Megan Best who saved the project while I was gone. I was never able to set things up properly for her to step into my shoes, but she did it with a smile and determination – both of which helped her succeed. Next to my parents who housed me and cared for me throughout this period in Michigan, yet again your support has gotten me through one of the worst times in my life. To my sisters and their families – I know I was bummer all the time, so thanks for distracting me as much as you did. It means more than you know. Next, to my friends and extended family (especially the Tanseys, Wiltons, and the extended OHEC network), thank you for all the notes, calls, and visits – I might not have been very responsive at times, but every one of you kept me fighting. Lastly, to Clay who dropped everything to sit in the cold Michigan Winter with me day in and day out for months and then listened to me whine and cry on the phone or FaceTime, thanks for loving me even though I was more cranky than sweet and took more than I gave.

I am so, so lucky to have you all in my life. It’s thanks to you that I’m back here in Kenya. All my love xox 

OK, enough mushiness, on to a field update!