Wk 4 - Day 18

well...i wasn't in class today. everything was cleared with my supervisor, cooperating teachers, etc. my older brother called and told my my sister-in-law was in the hospital. she lost 30 pounds in 4 days, couldn't keep anything down...or in, and that her potassium levels were dangerously low. he told me it's not life threatening...he'd tell me otherwise, but yet if her levels kept dropping...her heart could be damaged. so, i made the decision to go down to wausau.

found out later in the day that she has a parasite called cryptosporidium. the doctor said you get it from drinking contaminated well water. the doctor asked her if she has well water at home and she doesn't...so we all brainstormed to think of where she got it and couldn't come up with anything and the doctor is stumped. she's the first documented case of it in wausau! i guess there was an outbreak in milwaukee about 10 years ago. if she can't keep anything down and if her potassium levels don't come up...they have to order medicine to fight the parasite from madison or milwaukee since they don't have any in wausau. the earliest she'll get out is monday. i'm not a person prone to taking off at the sign of a sniffle with my family, but i am very close to the little family i have and want to be there if there's a problem. the health of my family has been a living hell over the past 5 years...and i just need to be there.

the teacher in me keeps thinking of the lessons i can do when i'm teaching about bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc., in a couple of weeks.