Tina Simmons

Dear family,  
I am sorry that it has taken so, so long to let you know what exactly has been 
going on.  I slept from Monday after dinnertime until Friday morning some time.  
My fever was somewhere between 102 and 104 most of that time.  We are not sure 
as we have no thermometer and when the hospital did take my temperature on 
Tuesday, it was 38 C.  I am still not sure what that is either.  We are just 
guessing by the chills, delusions ( I was asking where my sister De was) and a 
lot of talking in my sleep.  I also wake up completely drenched in sweat like 
getting out of a swimming pool.  
 
I have never been this sick in my whole life.  The doctor asked how many days I 
had been in Israel from the US.  By figuring the days out and calling the 
Israeli dept of infectious diseases and few other details, they decided to treat 
it as the Swine Flu.  They made me put on a filter mask and got me in and out as 
quickly as possible.  I was given two tablets of something, I don't know what?  
It would have been over 1 hour before the person in charge of the dig could have 
come back and picked us up, so I insisted on a taxi.  
TAXI!  
It was the first Mercedes I remember riding in and boy was I grateful.  After 
returning to the kubbitz, I needed to be quarantined for 24 hours longer than 
the symptoms last, according to the doctors.  Efrat was quick and found an 
abandoned school house with good air-conditioning, a refrigerator and bathroom.  
The only thing missing is a shower and it is not a far walk.  She even gave us a 
TV.  I never knew it before, but there are at least 4 channels that are 
broadcast in English., Discovery, Hallmark and 2 others.  So... I've been watching 
the TV.  You all know how big of a couch potato I am.  It took 3 days before I 
even turned it on.  I found Hallmark the first day and never checked the other 
channels.  The next day I looked further and found Discovery.  Then I got the 
bright idea to check all of the channels J 
 
Now the doctors never found out I had been to the Dead Sea, Masada, and Qumran.  
I had also been taking an over the counter diuretic for my legs and ankles at 
night before going to bed.  Like I said on the phone to some of you, it if far 
more likely I contracted the West Nile Virus because I had my share of mosquito 
bites from Northern CA and MS.  I'll contact my Dr. when I get back to the 
states and try to figure out just what happened.  The hospital did not take a 
blood or urine sample, so there is no evidence of what was wrong with me.  I do 
not know that you can determine either the Swine Flu or the West Nile Virus with 
a test.  We'll see.  
 
I am hoping to get to the Internet soon so I can write when we have energy.  I 
am away from the router and cannot just contact you whenever.  When I get moved 
into the women's house again, I will be in more frequent contact and I am even 
going to try to get my BLOG worked on.  I am pretty sure Colleen is digging 
tomorrow (Sunday).  I will not be going though until I feel better.  
 
Love to all of you, 

Tina