Two years ago, I wrote this blog post about my near death experiences in Burkina Faso. I got sick with Malaria, missed a coup d’etat and a terror attack. That’s why this photo is very important to me. Malaria changed me.
I borrowed a couple of paragraphs from that post but you can always check out the blog post here.
Mike two years ago:
So I’m working on a minesite. I get to go for a 3-week vacation every 9 weeks. Just before my second Field Break, I got sick with Malaria. I know this time will come. I’ve prepared my mind into this. But I wasn’t prepared for the things to come. I thought I will definitely die. Next to HIV, Malaria is one of the causes of deaths here in Africa. And 90% of the Malaria cases are recorded in Africa. The headache, fever and the chills are really alarming. I don’t have an appetite. And I cannot walk straight. My head is like being hammered over and over again. I will die, I thought to myself. I will die.
Well, I didn’t die. I recovered after a couple of days. But believe me or not, I was saved by Malaria. I was supposed to go to Ouaga to catch a flight for Dakar for my vacation. But I was sick and can’t travel so I missed my flight. During that time, there was a coup d’etat at the capital of Burkina Faso. Several people were killed because of the demonstrations and riots. I was saved.
