Wednesday, August 9 - now things get interesting.

We slept in a bit from last night. Our bed time suggestion was 12:15, and we left Cajuns at about 1:30. Whoops.

We got out to the house that had been worked on the day before. It was very hott and we stopped about 2 hours in for a water break. I felt a little woozy, but just hot. We headed back in and i worked for about another 10 minutes and ran out side because i was extremely nauseaous. I drank some water, and then sat in the van for a few minutes trying to cool off. Rose called (she was sharing the van with us) and said she had volunteered to deliever lunches. So christina (who was leaving at 12) and myself went to Rose, got the food and delievered it very quickly to all the work sites in the upper 9th as well as the blue house in the lower 9th.

When that was done, i drove Christina to the airport, and was a bit discombobulated. I figured it was just something with me being hott. I came back to St Mary's and expained to carla about my stomach and my disorientation and she suggested I go to the clinic, and it just so happened that other people needed to go too. We hop in the van and I get lost. Very lost, all because i am so disoriented. When i call the clinic, i finally get directions and we get there, late. But they stay open for us.

So the doctor checks me out and then goes to talk to other doctors. He comes back and says i have Giardia (http://www.cdc.gov/Ncidod
/dpd/parasites/giardiasis/factsht_giardia.htm)

I was apparently the 8th case that week and that is cause for major concern. The doctors were now very concerned about the living conditions at St. Mary's. I am prescribed pills that are toxic when in contact with alchohol and also make you feel worse than the giardia does. I get lost again on the way home, and no lie, start to hallucinate on the road. I just need to get to bed.

We finally get back and i head to bed, and just sob. I feel so ill, and there is nothing that I can do about it, at all. There is no electricity in our room, so its swealtering, and I am ready to go home.

That night at the meeting, the coordinators say there is nothing wrong with the water and everyone should continue to drink the filtered water. The truth however, is that the filter water filters out sand and pebbles, not parasites. And none of the filters are for parasites, so good thing i've been drinking the filtered water.

I am so happy that i saved the bottled water Marian sent me for an emergency. Its what i am now living on.