A friend of mine was blessed with a baby boy just the other day. I’m sure you know that when I say she was blessed I mean she was pregnant and finally gave birth. When I went to see her in hospital 24 hours after delivery, she was still in a lot of pain. Her face was puffed up, she couldn’t walk or sit properly, she was tired and exhausted, was on a fluids only diet and above all, she was still in hospital and not enjoying the comfort of her own bed at home. But despite all that, she was supper happy. And there was her little bundle of joy lying next to her.

Last week I had an encounter I had not expected or even imagined happening. It was an encounter that left me incapacitated for the whole week and actually, even as I write this article, I’m still feeling the effects of that encounter. Wait, I think the encounter must have happened a few weeks before last week, but it is only the effects of the encounter that were manifested this last week. Actually, now that I think about it, I remember reading somewhere that it takes between 9 – 40 days before malaria symptoms finally start showing in a victim’s body.