Chp 112. Proof of Malaria

“It is an honor to die for our Country while defending the Constitution, hence we are ready to face any bullets from the Naxals; but to be sent home (Mizoram) in body bags because of a mosquito bite is extremely disgraceful”.
- Mizo IR Battalion soldier posted at Chhatisgarh.

(No Mizos have died in the hands of the Naxals so far, but already 3 have succumbed to Malaria, with more than 50 Mizos in the infirmary going through various stages of Malarial PF infection)

I was down with a 104° plus temperature for the past 10 days, hence no update on my blog (or misual.com). It was definitely not an NBC sitcom moment

When I was at the height of my sickness, attacked by severe paroxysms of chillness rendering me (almost) breathless, my folks rushed me to the hospital. I was already heavily medicated so I don’t remember much, except waiting for 30 minutes which seemed like 31 minutes, for my blood test result to come out… finally, the nervous anticipation and trepidation was over: the doctor confirmed that it was not Malaria. Phew!

Comically enough, I recovered pretty quickly once I realized I was not carrying the dreaded sporozoan parasite transmitted by the jobless infected female Anopheles mosquito. Ah Malaria, Shoooo shoooo!

Before the blood test, everybody feared it might be Malaria. I tried convincing myself it was not Malaria, but there could be no real conviction without an actual test. But at the same time, I was just too scared to get a blood test done. Hence, a part of me gave up hope trying to fight the fever, because I still could not completely believe if it was a case of Malaria or not.

And that is how most of us are: We need proof inorder to believe in something, an evidence that we can see with our own eyes, or touch with our own hands…

When our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ rose from the dead and appeared infront of the disciples, Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve disciples, was not present.

[John 20]

²⁵So the other disciples told Thomas, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

²⁷Then Jesus said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

²⁸Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

²⁹Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Amen.

While I was sweating profusely from the after effects of paracetamol, larkin and antibiotics, I just couldn’t convince myself that it was not Malaria. It was only after the Laboratory doctor confirmed that it was not Malaria, that my body started fighting back.

However, apart from the senses of touch and sight, there was something else amiss. I couldn’t feel if it was Malaria or not. But in the case of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, many of us may not see or touch Him physically, but we definitely feel Him in our lives. And yet, we still falter from our beliefs inspite of such an experience… Must we all be like Thomas, asking the good Lord for proof first before believing?

The lonely road of sickness

Any of you who had been through such a similar experience will know what I am talking about: we always miss the one we love the most when we are down with a high fever.

I happened to dig out one of my earliest posts, dated December 22nd 2004! (The day I started the visit counter on my blog) FEVER It's about the time I felt really sick in IIMB and missed all my love and dear ones…

As I always used to be away from Home, whenever I felt sick, I always miss my parents. Now that I was at home with soaring temperature, I didn’t miss my folks at all, but I really miss my friends, sisters and my sweet girlfriend. We always miss the ones who are not currently with us. That’s the paradigm of sickness.

The one big difference between my earlier sickness and the latest one was, I always wanted to turn more towards God or be reformed once I recover. Just like how we miss the people who are not with us, we also miss God, promising to be a better Christian once we recover. But now, I do not miss God at all. For how can I miss someone who is always with me by my side?

Lying in bed the whole day with uncontrollable shivers, missing all my material friends, I realized one very important revelation: I was alone, but I was not lonely. Jesus Christ was there with me all along the road of wheeze and sneeze. He gave me companionship spiritually. It was a great journey indeed. Although I was extremely delirious from all the medications, I felt complete.

Thank you once again, sweet Jesus, for delivering me from the clutches of Viral fever and making me fit again so that I can continue serving You.

Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills--
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip--
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you--
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm--
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.