Ella has had strep four times in the last three months and her tonsils fill the back of her throat - she sounds like she is talking underwater. Her last round of antibiotics cost around $160 and they refer to it as liquid gasoline - still didn't solve the problem. They need to come out. I called Pete to let him know the cost and then waited in line to pick up Anders from kindergarten.
I have been reading This Is a Soul by Marilyn Berger. It is the story of Dr. Rick Hodes (who someday I would love to meet). He works in Mother Teresa's clinic in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and has for around 30 years.
This is what I read:
(from p. 64) "The boy's heart was more than twice the normal size, and he was clearly in severe heart failure, probably Rick assumed, the result of rheumatic fever. The boy was suffering from a combination of ailments rarely seen any longer in the United States. At one time entire wards in America were filled with cases of rheumatic fever, a consequence of strep throat. These days, in the developed world, strep is cured in a day with antibiotics. In the third world, it is aggressive and often left untreated, causing complications that can lead to early death."
Never mind - I think I have quickly found my thankful heart. Oh and by the way - highly recommend the book.
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