Hello!

Alrighty time for the crazy story that happened in Puerto Viejo. So I'm just going to get this fact out of the way: Randy and Carol are not people that I met, they were the names I gave for the two parasites I had... yikes.

I started the year of 2022 not feeling the best. I stayed at the base the 1st of January to rest and at around 4:30 in the afternoon, I went to take a nap because that's when I started to not feel well. A couple of my teammates woke me up the next morning (January 2) at 8:00 and I felt super sick. My stomach was hurting, I was light headed, I kept getting chills, my body ached, I was just super weak, and I was sprinting to the bathroom (haha). I went to a clinic later that day with a couple of other people who were unwell too. We were scheduled to get some tests the next day to figure out what was wrong. We also went and got Electrolyte at a pharmacy... let's just say I am never ever drinking another Electrolyte for as long as I live, haha. We did not like them at all.

Next day (January 3), I started blacking out a lot when I woke up and I was exhausted by just walking down the stairs. We all went to another clinic to get blood tested and me and my friend also had to take a number 2 in a cup (lucky us). We got our results a couple hours later. A couple people had dengue fever and then a couple of us had either one or two parasites. So my friend named her one parasite Gertrude and my other friend who also had two parasites named hers Mr. Red and Shelly. And then there was mine: good ol' Randy and Carol. We are back at the base and we had to walk for a couple minutes and I was out of breath and kept blacking out. I couldn't walk straight and so people had to help me walk everywhere. I laid down the rest of the day and I did that all day on January 4 too. I started to get upset and sad because I just wanted to walk normal and I couldn’t.

January 5 was a travel day to San Jose. I almost threw up on the bus, but I slept for most of the time. We got to the place we were staying at in San Jose and then I went to the clinic with my squad leader Isabel. She was the absolute best and took care of me so well. I love you Bizzer!! Then we got some Electrolit at the clinic and that stuff was wayyy better. So if you ever get a parasite, get yourself some Mora Azul or Lima-Limon Electrolit.

January 6 people on the squad had to get tested for COVID. I got tested and was negative and then I went to the hospital to get an IV so I would be more hydrated. I felt better after that, but then later that night I started to not feel well again. The next day was travel day to Guatemala. I woke up not feeling well at all. I was in a wheelchair all day in the airport because I could not walk. We arrived at where we were staying in Guatemala later that night. I went to bed pretty soon after we arrived.

The next day (January 8), I felt a little better, but not a ton. That morning, a lot of people on the squad left for 3 hours of silence and solitude at a volcano. I couldn't go so I stayed in bed and I fell asleep. I woke up and I felt better!! YAY! A little later everyone came back from silence and solitude. It was so sweet to just be with everyone again and see all their faces and give people hugs.

God taught me a lot during that week. I'm pretty stubborn and don't like to ask for help and I don't like to be helped because I feel like I'm a burden. I learned that I need to lay down my stubbornness and pride. Being in a wheelchair was a very humbling experience. That was when I realized people want to take care of me and love me. I realize more and more how much I love my community. I truly am so blessed to have an amazing team who cares for me so well in more ways than one and a squad as a whole who loves so big because the love of our Heavenly Father is in them.

Although Randy and Carol made me feel like I was "on death's door" as Lucy would say, I am actually thankful that I got them. I learned/realized a lot through it, created some fun friendships through it, and made some really funny memories.

Thank you for reading!! :)

Ally