Down Towards the Healing

As many of you know, I brought back a few little souvenirs from Haiti in the from of a parasite and salmonella. At first I hoped (prayed, pleaded!) that it was just an upset stomach and would go away by its own, but after a week of not being able to keep any fluids or food in my body, I headed to the doctor. The doctor put me on one antibiotic while we were waiting for test results to come back from the lab. Two days later, salmonella showed up and I started taking another antibiotic in addition. My levels of energy were so low, which does not jive well with my achiever personality. I was starting to get better and then started feeling achy all over. The pain started out around my joints, in my ankles, knees, elbows and shoulders and then eventually spread to my back and became excruciating, effecting the tendon along the right side of my spine. After getting good advice from a pharmacist ("Go to the ER!"Thanks, Jess!!) I was told what I already believed, that my body hates drugs and that I was having a bad reaction to the antibiotics. I was given pain killers and laughed a lot with my dear friend Jo  (who graciously drove me to the hospital at 2am) every time my oxygenation levels "flat-lined" because I was having such a hard time taking deep breaths.


The next morning I called my doctor who advised me to stop taking both antibiotics (ER doctor only told me to stop taking one-the antibiotics had seemingly already done their job and I didn't need them anymore) and to rest rest rest. I had no option but to rest, I could barely move and was in intense pain, despite taking pain killers faithfully every 4 hours. My friends and family have been amazing, sending out prayers, words of encouragement, bringing me Gatorade and flowers (Thank you,Sharee for the hope flowers!) Not to mention my incredible husband, Steve who deserves a black belt in making Diane feel better. He sings me songs, buys me frost Gatorade, holds my hand, wipes my tears, gets me (goes to three stores to get me organic non-dairy) soup, takes out the garbage, watches LA Ink marathons with me even though I only have enough energy for two episodes and then fall asleep every time, rubs my back, does the laundry, tells me I am beautiful and means it, even when I am barfing and pale, does the dishes, and is working to change the world usually all in a day's work.


So, with that, I bring you today's photo of the day...because my sense of humor is still sort of intact.

[healing | March 22, 2010]

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this blog brought to you by vicodin.

[Women's Prison, Afghanistan 2008 | These precious babies were just a few of the many kids who live inside the prison walls with their convicted mothers.]

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Manshiyat Naser {Garbage City}


[home to the dedicated Coptic Christians, the economy in Manshiyat naser revolves around the collection and recycling of Cairo's garbage. It lacks infrastructure and many homes have no running water, sewage or electricity. Garbage collectors bring the trash here where it is sorted through in an attempt to retrieve potentially useful items for resale. Above, children show off their tattoos, which mark them as believers in a predominately Muslim nation and symbolize community]

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haiti on my mind. (and in my stomach...thanks parasite!)

It's photo of the day time! I forgot to post yesterday (this parasite is really sucking the life out of me!) so I  included a bonus video post today. enjoy! your comments are welcomed!

[waterfront. saint marc, haiti]




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photo of the day (3) prague, czech rebublic.

[after a trip to Afghanistan in 2008, we stopped by Prague for some much needed decompression. It's colorful streets, street musicians and great food were a treat. Side note: the hostel we stayed in had a shower right next to the bed. You could wash your hair while laying down if you wanted to.]

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photo of the day (2) [capricorn park, south africa.]

[in the shanty township that they call home, these young ones thrive with potential despite the racism, xenophobia and poverty that surround them. Capricorn, South Africa | September 2009 ]

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photo of the day. (1)

[a young boy shows off his toothless grin in St. Marc, Haiti | February 2010]

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connecting my heart to my head.

dear faithful friends, as i'm sure you've noticed from my lack of posts over the years, i am not great at keeping my blog up to date with my life. it's true that weak internet connections, busy travel schedules, etc etc etc play a part in this and have brought me to the realization that when life is moving at a bajillion miles per hour, which it often is, i work better in images than in words. so, in an attempt to get the stories out of my head and onto this page, i am going to post in a different way for a little while. one photo a day for as many days as i remember to do it.

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© 2010 unless otherwise stated all photos are copyright diane schallert and may not be used without permission. thanks.

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