A Short Note On I Had Contracted Malaria

Malaria has been in existence for thousands of years. Many historical records show that it has affected human civilization greatly by plaguing and causing mass death. The earliest record can be traced back to 2700 BC in China (Cox, 2002). It has been long associated with swamps and insects for hundreds of years but often believed to be the air from swamps causing the plague. The term malaria rooted from two Italian words ‘mala’ and ‘aria’ which literally means bad air. Humanity did not know the true nature of the long thought disease until 1894 when a Scottish physician, Sir Ronald Ross, discovered that it was actually the parasite in mosquito that is causing the malaria.

Malaria is an ancient disease caused by parasites in the genus Plasmodium. Mosquitoes infected with a malaria parasite have been found preserved in approximately 30-million-year-old amber (Mehlhorn, et al.), and the malaria antigen has been detected in the tissues of Egyptian remains dating back to 3200 BC (Miller, et al.). There are many examples where malaria epidemics have had a significant impact on human history, and this is especially evident during the many wars throughout history. As far back as the fourth century A.D., Attila the Hun’s invasion of Rome was stopped because of malaria (Kakkilaya). During the Revolutionary War, malaria helped the Americans win their independence because many of the British armies were too sick to fight (McNiell). During World War I, British, French, German, and American armies were unable to fight because of malaria (Kakkilaya). A French commanding general when ordered to attack was reported to have replied, “Regret that my army is in hospital with malaria” (Kakkilaya). In World War II, early during the Pacific campaign, more soldiers fell to malaria than to enemy (“Institute of Medicine”). Malaria Control in War Areas (MCWA) was founded in 1942 to control malaria near military training bases in the United States ("Our History - Our Story"). After World War II, MCWA went on to become the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Because the South was where most malaria transmission occurred and was where the MCWA had been

Being a doctor says a great deal about who you are, and also the person that you aspire to be. A doctor has immeasurable qualities. Not everyone is equipped to be a doctor, and not everyone wants to be one. For those of us who do, we put forth a great deal of time and effort to achieve this end. When asked why I want to become a doctor, the answer is easy. I want to become a doctor to help people, but my reasoning runs deeper. When I take the time to reflect, I know that medicine has always been the right choice for

The first words I had received from the specialist, “sorry”, sorry isn’t going to fix me, sorry, a subconscious response of whomever I’ve met. I was in a world of my own hearing the mumbles of the doctor, until an earthquake shook it, unexpected and life changing, “amputation”. I felt as though my life had reached rock bottom, could things get worse, not only was I afraid of the procedure but the judgment which I would be exposed to in public and the adjustments which will be made to my life.

“Right this way,” the nurse ahead of me was prompting me to a brightly lit hall that was completely foreign to me. I couldn’t help but be terrified by the sights and sounds around me: people chattering, machines methodically beeping, gurneys rushing past. It was my first time in a hospital and my eyes frantically searched each room looking for any trace of my father. She stopped suddenly and I turned to the bed in front of me but I could not comprehend what I saw. At such a young age, I idolized my father; I had never seen him so vulnerable. Seeing him laying in a hospital bed unconscious, surrounded by wires and tubes was like witnessing Superman encounter kryptonite. My dad’s car accident not only made him a quadriplegic, but also crippled

I’ve learnt that being a doctor is about so much more than administering drugs. At its peak, being a doctor is about communication and compassion. I love working with people and I love science, and the more exposure I get to medicine the more confident I feel that despite its hurdles and sacrifices, there is no other career that would grant me as much fulfilment as

In addition to scholastic achievement, well rounded physicians have plenty of life experiences. They have fought through tragedies, yet find reasons to smile. They demonstrate success and leadership in spite of past failures. Their story may not be glamorous, but they consistently overcome obstacles that would stifle others. Their drive and determination defines who they are. The physician that emphasizes the well being of others over personal gain, that is the physician I plan to be. My path towards becoming a physician has been difficult in order to shape me into a more complete person. These past experiences allow me to sympathize, empathize, and more supportive of patients in the primary care setting. I feel the need to use my personal

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing”- Pelé. When I think about my future, quite frankly, I’m not sure where I’ll end up. I truly believe my future will depend on my personal happiness no matter what career I end up in. However, that’s not how life goes. In a career, it’s not all flowers and daisies; you sacrifice, you endure, you persevere, and sometimes, you suffer but in the end you are rewarded with a life only dreamed by some. I’m not looking at the medical field for money, I’m looking at it for how it fits to my characteristics. The medical field is a group of people willing to suffer, sacrifice, and endure for the well-being

As I was getting ready to enter the patient’s room, I was thinking about the many ways I could start a conversation with her. I had previously entered her room and I knew she was one of the sweetest and happiest people ever. I decided to write my assignment on her because of her inspiring personality, despite her physical condition. I was amazed to see how a person who could do nothing but the bare minimum was so happy and thankful towards life. I spent a lot of time with her through out the day. I helped her with her breakfast, lunch, bed bath, and followed her to therapy. I was so amazed that despite her weakness, she tried so hard during her therapeutic exercises, and although she failed many times, she never stopped smiling and just kept

Since I was a child, I have always known I wanted to become a doctor, but I did not know what kind of doctor I wanted to become. Did I want to become a doctor to earn a lot of money and live a prosperous life, be respected in society, or so that I could simply help other people? The answer came to me not too long ago while I was volunteering at the Methodist Richardson Hospital. During my time in the children’s ward reading books with these children or even just talking to them, I felt a sense of fulfillment. Seeing these children with life threatening diseases, such as cancer, smiling happily as if nothing were wrong, living their lives as if they were not stuck in hospital beds made me just love them and their positive attitudes. Working

Looking back to the kickoff of my freshman year made me feel frangible. At this point, I had been a little more than halfway through my freshman and everything had transmuted once again. This time in a good way. I had just gotten out of my nerves cast about a month ago. It had been a fortnight since getting out of my cast for my broken ankle and but now I had just been able to commence utilizing my ambulating boot. The visual perception of my leg after being in a cast for 4 and half months Frightening. An aberrantly minuscule leg, can it even work where my poetic conceptions. My peregrination commenced at that moment. Two months until the commencement of club soccer season. For about a month my job in the school was to study and steadily start ambulating around the school.

There were only six people, including myself and my mom, in the orthopedic clinic's waiting room. The other four were two couples. When we entered, one elderly couple glanced up with wrinkled faces. The other was a mother and her adult son, and both smiled at me and my mom. After we had checked in for my appointment, we sat and waited like the other patients. At the age of 15, I was the youngest in that waiting room. I was also the only one wearing a cast on my arm. I felt a bit out of place. Then the door to the doctors' offices swung open. A young couple walked out, holding onto the hands of a little girl. They all had sparkling eyes and beaming faces. Upon closer observation, I realized that the girl couldn't comfortably hold onto her dad's hand because she was wearing a prosthetic forearm and hand. Despite her condition, I couldn't help but smile at the sheer image of her joy. As the family walked by, I stuck my good hand out and asked for a high five. She was shy, but her parents encouraged her. She missed the first time, but after a successful second attempt with her prosthetic hand, everyone in that room, even the women at the

I selected general surgeon for my career; I will be using tools to operate on patients who are injured and sick in an attempt to make them healthy again. A surgeon diagnoses the problem a patient is having and is the leader of the surgical team, including the surgeon's assistant and the anesthesiologist. I chose this career because I enjoy learning about the human body, and because I want to help those who are injured and sick. I broke my arm playing football when I was younger, and I had a fantastic doctor who helped me recover from the injury. I told myself I wanted to be like him and help fix those who are injured.I wish to help the sick and injured recover back to health. I wish to work in a hospital with other surgeons and

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infection of humans, among other organisms, caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which after being transmitted by the vector, mosquitoes under the genus Anopheles, grows in about 6 days inside of red blood cells making over 20,000 to 30,000 daughter cells and burst out to the cell to go to others. Even though malaria is very treatable and had even been eradicated in in the US since 1951, the disease caused 219 million clinical episodes and 660,000 deaths in 2010. In the same year, the vector spread disease was also the 7th leading killer in lower income countries.

Following the infected female Anopheles mosquito bite the incubation period varies. The type of Plasmodium parasite responsible for the infection plays a big factor in the time frame. Antimalarial drugs may also increase the length of the Malaria incubation period. Estimated time frame is 9-14 days for Plasmodium falciparum, 12-18 days for Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale and 18-40 days for Plasmodium malarie. Delays between exposure and development of symptoms in patients can result in misdiagnoses or delayed diagnosis because of reduced clinical suspicion of the healthcare provider (CDC, 2017. It’s important to remind healthcare providers of any recent travel within 12 months to any malaria endemic areas.