say that.” Eli leaned back, crossed his arms, and added, “And that’s such a bummer, because it looks like you’re going to have to find someone else to be your wild monkey patrol guy.”
“What?” Katie put her hands on her hips. “You can’t blackmail me like that.”
“It’s the way of the jungle, sweetheart. Share your mocha dregs or chase your own wild monkeys. It’s up to you.”
“Fine.” Katie shot him a sideways look. He seemed to tower over her, grinning and looking like he was about to beat his chest and let out a crazy Tarzan holler.
Inside, Katie felt as if Eli had scooped up her heart in his brawny arms, and the two of them were swinging through the air on a jungle vine.
5
A nd you’re sure you got a tetanus shot before coming here, right?”
The doctor looked at Katie over the rim of his glasses.
“Yes, I checked. It’s listed on the papers I brought with me. They’re in my shoulder bag over there.”
Eli’s mom lifted Katie’s bag from where she had left it beside the desk in one of the guest rooms in Building C where Dr. Powell and his wife were staying. Cheryl brought the bag over to Katie so she could pull out the copies of her immunization forms.
It had been four days since she and Eli had arrived, and the odd little wound on her back was continuing to bother her. That morning she told Cheryl about how the injury had awakened her in the night because it felt hot and was throbbing. Cheryl took a look at it and said a doctor needed to take a look. Blessedly, Dr. Powell and his wife were staying at Brockhurst for two weeks before they returned to the village where they lived and worked in Sudan.
“Yes, this is all in order,” Dr. Powell said. “You got all the right immunizations. That’s the good news. But you definitely have an infection in the wound. I’m going to clean it out for you, and then we’ll see if we can start you on an antibiotic. Do you have any allergies to any medication?”
“No, not that I know of.”
“When was the last time you took an antibiotic?”
Katie couldn’t remember. Aside from catching a cold or the flu every few years, she was a healthy person.
“Any other symptoms?”
“I’m really tired.”
“Have you slept much since you arrived?”
“Not much. Only about four hours at a time before I wake up. It takes a while to fall back to sleep, and then I only manage to get in another couple of hours before I wake up again.”
“That’s not unusual. You’ll adjust the longer you’re here. The formula is that it normally takes one day for every hour of the time difference before your internal clock is set to the local time. What is the time difference from California? Isn’t it eleven hours?”
“I thought it was ten,” Cheryl said. “Or is that only with daylight savings?”
The doctor turned back to Katie and said, “Whatever the difference, the point is you’ve been here a few days already. Give yourself another week, and you’ll be less fatigued. In the meantime, avoid caffeine and take short naps in the afternoon if you can. I’ll see what I can do about some antibiotics for you. If I’m unsuccessful, you might have to take the prescription into Nairobi.”
Katie noticed the expression on Cheryl’s face that seemed to indicate she wasn’t thrilled about having to go to Nairobi.
“Is that a problem?” Katie asked. She liked the idea of seeing the countryside in the daytime and going back to Nairobi.
“It can be,” Cheryl responded. “We’ll see. Last month we had a guest visiting us from Canada. She forgot to bring her blood pressure medication, and we had to take three trips into town and wait in long lines at several places before we finally located what she needed. The antibiotics shouldn’t be as difficult.” She turned to Dr. Powell. “Don’t you think?”
“I’m afraid I never know. I’ll look into it right away. Can you think of anything else you or Jim need while I’m hunting down the
“What?” Katie put her hands on her hips. “You can’t blackmail me like that.”
“It’s the way of the jungle, sweetheart. Share your mocha dregs or chase your own wild monkeys. It’s up to you.”
“Fine.” Katie shot him a sideways look. He seemed to tower over her, grinning and looking like he was about to beat his chest and let out a crazy Tarzan holler.
Inside, Katie felt as if Eli had scooped up her heart in his brawny arms, and the two of them were swinging through the air on a jungle vine.
5
A nd you’re sure you got a tetanus shot before coming here, right?”
The doctor looked at Katie over the rim of his glasses.
“Yes, I checked. It’s listed on the papers I brought with me. They’re in my shoulder bag over there.”
Eli’s mom lifted Katie’s bag from where she had left it beside the desk in one of the guest rooms in Building C where Dr. Powell and his wife were staying. Cheryl brought the bag over to Katie so she could pull out the copies of her immunization forms.
It had been four days since she and Eli had arrived, and the odd little wound on her back was continuing to bother her. That morning she told Cheryl about how the injury had awakened her in the night because it felt hot and was throbbing. Cheryl took a look at it and said a doctor needed to take a look. Blessedly, Dr. Powell and his wife were staying at Brockhurst for two weeks before they returned to the village where they lived and worked in Sudan.
“Yes, this is all in order,” Dr. Powell said. “You got all the right immunizations. That’s the good news. But you definitely have an infection in the wound. I’m going to clean it out for you, and then we’ll see if we can start you on an antibiotic. Do you have any allergies to any medication?”
“No, not that I know of.”
“When was the last time you took an antibiotic?”
Katie couldn’t remember. Aside from catching a cold or the flu every few years, she was a healthy person.
“Any other symptoms?”
“I’m really tired.”
“Have you slept much since you arrived?”
“Not much. Only about four hours at a time before I wake up. It takes a while to fall back to sleep, and then I only manage to get in another couple of hours before I wake up again.”
“That’s not unusual. You’ll adjust the longer you’re here. The formula is that it normally takes one day for every hour of the time difference before your internal clock is set to the local time. What is the time difference from California? Isn’t it eleven hours?”
“I thought it was ten,” Cheryl said. “Or is that only with daylight savings?”
The doctor turned back to Katie and said, “Whatever the difference, the point is you’ve been here a few days already. Give yourself another week, and you’ll be less fatigued. In the meantime, avoid caffeine and take short naps in the afternoon if you can. I’ll see what I can do about some antibiotics for you. If I’m unsuccessful, you might have to take the prescription into Nairobi.”
Katie noticed the expression on Cheryl’s face that seemed to indicate she wasn’t thrilled about having to go to Nairobi.
“Is that a problem?” Katie asked. She liked the idea of seeing the countryside in the daytime and going back to Nairobi.
“It can be,” Cheryl responded. “We’ll see. Last month we had a guest visiting us from Canada. She forgot to bring her blood pressure medication, and we had to take three trips into town and wait in long lines at several places before we finally located what she needed. The antibiotics shouldn’t be as difficult.” She turned to Dr. Powell. “Don’t you think?”
“I’m afraid I never know. I’ll look into it right away. Can you think of anything else you or Jim need while I’m hunting down the
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