Dinner

In the end, the malaria treatment was so effective that they announced me cured before I had any symptoms. From this point on, I'm just a data point on a series of graphs. I asked so many questions about the process and the research that the doctor recommended some books to read and promised to send me the paper if/when it is published. This same group worked on the recently approved  malaria vaccine, so there's cause for hope, but maybe not for decades.

In the meantime, I had some friends over for a long-planned meal. We had done a multi-course French meal in July and I wanted to do something similar with a fall, Italian theme. 

We all dressed up. I was careful to choose a roomy skirt to allow for gluttony.

Tagliatelle, served with a walnut sauce. Delicious.

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This picture serves to remind me that burrata is an incredible cheese and that my friend L is an excellent photographer.

When I visited Albuquerque recently, my Uncle de-I gave me a fresh pasta tutorial and sent me home with imported semolina flour, admonishing me to quit using the all purpose flour I had previously used. I followed his instructions to the letter, except I let the machine do most of the kneading. (Sorry, Uncle, I'm lazy!) 

Dessert was a trio of homemade ice cream, which I thought would be the pinnacle of the meal, but it was, in fact, underwhelming. I have been trying out more gourmet recipes lately, and while Campari raspberry was a keeper, lavender blueberry was like eating a flower. Masala chai sounds good in principle, but ended tasting mainly of cinnamon and I ended up tipping the leftovers into the sink. My brother is a huge chai fan, so I'm not giving up on that idea yet.

I wish friends would come to dinner every week. Although I have to prepare for two days, the reward is hours of conversation, a week of delicious leftovers, and a house that is cleaned from top to bottom. It's a good deal.

Testing positive

 So... I have malaria. Let me tell you, if you drop that into the small talk part of your work meetings (those first three or four minutes as everyone logs on), it really gets people's attention. 

I tested positive almost as soon as it could have been detected, seven days after infection. I was pretty bummed. I knew this was a long shot, but I hoped it might work. However, the researchers seemed pretty blase' about it. Said the PI, "Science is a harsh mistress." Still, all is not lost. Since this is the first trial in humans, the primary goal is to assess safety. I've been told that even if it doesn't appear very effective, as long as it doesn't cause serious side effects, they will still hold larger trials. 

The type of malaria I was given was chosen because it is quite treatable. I had medicine before I even had symptoms, although I heard that other volunteers felt like they had the flu. So, even through I'm walking around full of parasites, I can't really tell. And because we don't have mosquitoes that transmit this malaria in DC, it perfectly fine for me to interact with people; there's no way for them to catch it. And in about a year or so, I will hopefully be able to read a paper published about the results and know I was one of the n that contributed.

Malaria

I was infected with malaria today. Isn't that the best clickbait? It is actually true, though. I volunteered to be in a vaccine trial earlier this spring. After three doses of the experimental vaccine and many doctors visits, it was time to test the efficacy, something they call the "challenge." 

Reducing malaria has been a cause I've supported for years. A Facebook ad offered me a chance to sign up for a medical trial. When I found out it was for malaria, I signed on the dotted line. I mean, after reading the thirty pages of Institutional Review Board documentation, of course.  

The challenge meant exposing my arm to a cup of malaria-infected mosquitoes until I had the requistite number of bites. For the next three weeks I'll go in every day, while they monitor my blood for signs of the parasite. The plan is that they'll treat infection before I even have symptoms, but at the end I'll get treatment even if I don't show any symptoms.

I have learned enough to know that this malaria vaccine will probably fail, as many have before, but it still feels good to possibly contribute in a small way.