Magestic 1 by Geoff Wolak

Author:Geoff Wolak [Wolak, Geoff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-01-08T05:00:00+00:00

Malaria

On the last day in Kenya I felt ill, shivers and a night sweat, feeling rough in the morning. We made plans to see the quack back in the UK rather than here.

I drank lots of fluids, and slept when I could on the flight, British Airways as usual, Nairobi to Gatwick. Arriving back in the UK I felt very rough, Jimmy advising me to tough it through customs or face a quarantine. With determination I struggled through, getting into the car and almost fainting. Jimmy drove straight to central London and to a private clinic, virtually carrying me up the steps. The next day I woke to blue curtains and pastel colours, a brief inspection by a doctor in a white lab-coat before a large needle robbed me of further thought on the matter. On the third day I came around, finding my mum sat there, and looking worried.

‘You had us all worried,’ she informed me. ‘How are you feeling, dear?’

‘Still alive, I guess.’ I eased up and took in the room, remembering flashes of pastel blue. ‘How long … how long have I been here?’ I croaked out.

‘Three days and nights,’ she answered. ‘Jimmy called us the morning after you got back, and second day you were terrible - delusional. We were worried sick.’

‘What … what have the doctors said?’

‘Malaria, a bad bout.’

‘Oh. Has it gone?’

‘They say you’ll be weak for ten days, but should make a full recovery. You can come and stay with us for a while.’

‘Well … er … got work to do –’

‘Jimmy said he’d take care of everything, so you’ve got the time off,’ my mum insisted. And she was a force to be reckoned with.

After two days of pastel blue I was ready to go, Jimmy popping in and dropping off supplies, food and drink, plus fresh clothes. Mum and Dad picked me up, driving me straight home the short distance to Richmond.

‘From Kenya to my old room,’ I muttered. ‘Bloody marvellous.’

I got three square meals a day, whether I wanted them or not, watched daytime television with Mum – many of her friends dropping in for coffee, and after a week I was ready for a large needle to put me under; anything was better than this. Jimmy popped around, and I told him I had to get out of here. I convinced my parents I was feeling much better and I drove away, relieved at not feeling like a sick ten-year-old off school any more.

‘Next time, I want a private nurse in the flat,’ I insisted, Jimmy laughing at my ordeal.

‘What’s wrong with your mum’s cooking and company?’ he joked. ‘You should be grateful.’

‘I love her to bits, but in small doses. Right now I need a curry, the lap dance bar and a nightclub.’

‘It’s Monday, so it’ll be quiet. Call that bird you like, Sarah. She rang the flat a couple of times.’

‘What did you tell her?’

‘That you had a nasty infectious disease.’

‘What!’

He laughed. ‘No, I told her you were in Kenya sorting some business.

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