I Caught Malaria to Fund My Comedy Show, Then It All Went Wrong

II have asked people how much they should be paid to voluntarily be infected with the malaria parasite. Many people shake their heads and say that no money in the world would be enough. It seems a bit precious. When a group of doctors developing a malaria vaccine offered me a few thousand dollars, I was over the moon.

Two years ago, at age 25, I was spending my evenings doing stand-up comedy and my days working a variety of odd jobs with varying degrees of success. I had been a teacher, a copywriter, a coffee factory packager, and (for one disastrous shift) a bartender. What I really wanted to do was write a show and perform it for the public.