There once was an itch

I woke up around 1:30 this morning and my legs were itching more than usual, so I climbed down from my bed, stumbled into the bathroom, and applied copious amounts of anti-itch lotion. Normally this would calm the itchiness, normally being the operative word. When I woke again with the same fiery itchiness at 5:30, I said a little prayer and tried to get one more hour of sleep before the day began. Upon examining my legs after my colder than usual shower, I noticed an abundance of new bug bites. Not the garden variety mosquito bite, but something different. Something larger, something itchier, something unknown.

The pain and itchiness became more intense as the day progressed. I walked back to the guest house during second period to talk to nurse Brooke. She gave me half a Benadryl (a whole pill would put me to sleep) and told me where I could find some ointment in the clinic. After applying the recommended amount, I felt a tiny amount of relief. I kept thinking that the Benadryl would kick in and I wouldn't feel like I was ready to jump out of my skin. So much for thinking. It got worse. The pain, the redness, the itchiness, the feeling that something was attacking me. I sat through lunch detention with three girls who were tardy this morning, and counted down the minutes until I could retreat to the guest house where Kamala had frozen towels waiting for me. Brooke recommended more Benadryl, so after lunch I followed the nurse's orders, and then had a long afternoon nap. Kamala and the teachers handled the afternoon electives. Thank you ladies!

So what happened next you may ask, I woke up to more pain and itching. I grabbed the frozen towels, and logged onto Web MD to see if I could diagnose myself. Again, so much for thinking. It could be mosquitoes, it could be spiders, but it was most definitely not the good looking blood sucker named Edward Cullen (read the Twilight saga). Back to square one. I had a little pity party, decided that crying wasn't going to solve anything, and opened my card from Priscilla (it's Monday). Of course the card made me cry, but at least I was crying over something other than the pain.

Jessica and I enjoyed some time over at the boys' home before dinner. They were playing soccer, dodge ball, and showing off their dance moves. It was a nice change from some of the dance styles I've seen back home and an even better diversion from my legs (even though the boys kept asking what was wrong). Dinner was chicken stir fry, and then I got ready for a Skype date with my mom. Unfortunately I couldn't hear her because of technical difficulties, but we're going to try again tomorrow. It's almost 8, the pain and itching are still bugging the heck out of me (you laughed, didn't you?), and I have a date with the shower and some more Benadryl. Good night!