I have survived my first illness of the year. Working in water and sanitation, I am very aware of the little things that can lurk in food and water that you really don’t want to ingest. I spend my time trying to decrease people’s risk of getting sick from contaminated water and contaminated food. I guess it is about time one of these organisms struck back!

I woke up on Sunday not feeling very well – slightly nauseous and, without going into details, needing to use the toilet quite often. I couldn’t eat breakfast, so went back to bed. To be safe, Susana (the woman I live with and my boss), called a doctor. This is the point where my food was coming up as well. Lucky for me, doctors make house calls in Bolivia, even on a Sunday – for the low low price of 200Bs (about $30). Within 30 minutes the doctor was in my room giving me a full check-up to determine what the problem was. Her prognosis was that I have a bacterial intestinal infection, likely caused by E.coli or some other waterborne bacteria.

The doctor prescribed me some antibiotics and some other stuff that doesn’t taste very good to protect my digestive tract. These came to a total of about 80Bs, or $11 which is less than the dispensing fee at Shoppers. She also prescribed me a diet for the next 7 days: potatoes, rice, grilled meat or fish, no fat, no fruit or vegetables, lots and lots of water. I am already feeling much better, although I stayed home from work to recuperate today. I should be fine to go to work tomorrow.

I’ve been to a few developing countries before and managed never to get very sick. Really, it was inevitable and I am thankful it only lasted as along as it did. I could have picked it up from anything – something I ate or drank, or something I touched and then didn’t wash my hands well enough. I am told I will become accustomed to the microorganisms here in time. I hope it’s true! But at least I know doctors make house calls.