Tuberculosis (TB) Part Two

Back at school, January and February came and went. But the cramps and nausea never did go away. I watched as I dropped below 125 and thought, "I'm starting to look like a Halloween costume." At the beginning of May, I went to Germany for a language course. I had to get a residence permit, and this meant having another doctor's visit to make sure I wasn't bringing the pox into Germany. He asked me about the medicine (isoniazid), and I explained why I was taking it. Another chest x-ray he took was clear. He weighed me, and I saw I was 55 kilos, about 121 pounds. He shook his head and said in good doctor's German, "Sie müssen aber zunehmen!" Which translates as: "Dude, you gotta put on weight!"

He told me to go home and flush the rest of my pills (another three months’ supply) and he said there was no way I had TB or would get it now. I did as he said, and within a week, I was eating like the horse those pills were meant for. I ate my way through Germany and Italy for three months. When I got back to Haverford, I weighed 140!

Yes, they had to be sure I didn't have an active TB infection. And if I did have it, that it got treated. But no one really appreciated the nausea, cramps, and weight loss except me--and a German doctor. My point is that diagnosing a sickness is as complicated as healing from one. Preventing a disease is a way to get a head start on healing. But sometimes, the body doesn't like this approach. And when it protests, it can't be ignored.