The day after the scarf shopping trip I came down with an awful cold. There were a few jokes about Anna having the coronavirus and I ended up taking the Tuesday and Wednesday off work. Rubbish though it is being ill in a foreign country, recuperation was a lot more pleasant – day in the courtyard in the sun reading my book was definitely preferable to curling up in a ball in dark, cold England!
My colleagues were extremely kind, texting me and ringing me to check I was ok! One of the doctors very kindly offered to drop food round for me!
I went back to work on Thursday and spent the day drawing my self help leaflet. I have also made a leaflet for health care professionals in the rural clinics – though this has a lot more writing and a lot less pictures.
Everyone seems very intrigued by the pictures, but not everyone seems to be able to interpret them, which worries me slightly! There is no point having a pictorial leaflet if no one knows what the pictures are!
Regarding the cold, I have been given an awful lot of advice about how I got it/how to help it.
I was told in no uncertain terms I had contracted a cold because I drink too much water, someone else told me I had not got a cold because the weather is warm in Addis! And again I’ve been told to drink less! Oddly I’ve never been thirstier – normally in London I have to make myself drink 1.5 litres a day and can easily get a headache from dehydration without feeling particularly thirsty. These last few days I’ve been drinking 3.5-4 litres with ease!
Anna’s adventures 