Overdue Update

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I know many of you are still wondering about what happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I know, this explanation is long overdue. My last blog entry was sometime after my Sunday doctor's appointment...the doctor who put me on a super strict, depressing diet...Well, Tuesday came around and there was still no sign of improvement. I had actually lost another kilo (a little over 2 lbs). I wanted a second opinion. After school I went to a local clinic where I got to see another doctor. He thought that I might have salmonella and recommended that I go straight to the hospital for tests. Just what I wanted...ugh. If you know me, you know that I absolutely hate hospitals. My friend, coworker, and caregiver the past couple of weeks (bless her soul!) Marga, said that she could take me and pick me up, but that she couldn't stay with me. She also cautioned me that it was going to be a very long wait. The last time her husband, Victor, waited 6 hours in the emergency room to see a doctor. Sarah, my American coworker 😊 said that she would stay with me. So, off the 3 of us went to the hospital in El Ejido with snacks, bottled water, and lots of reading material, not knowing what lay ahead of us. We got there at 3:00 pm. I waited until 9 before calling Marga to let her know that I still had not seen a doctor. Marga came immediately to see what the situation was. Once again we were told that it wouldn't be much longer, and that I had to wait my turn. I finally saw a doctor at 10:30. That night I had a urine test, a blood test, and an Xray. After all of that, we still didn't quite know what was wrong with me, except for the fact that my blood platelet count and amylase count were very, very high...which point to an infection. My doctor asked me to stay the night so that an IV could regulate the nutrients I was receiving...and he also told me that if I went home I'd have to wait in line all over again. The best news of the day was that there wasn't a room with a bed for me. I would be spending the night all by myself in what the Spanish call a sillon. After a slightly difficult goodbye/ good night to Marga and Sarah and another blood test, at about 3am I was finally taken to the sillon. It was basically a room with 15 very uncomfortable recliner chairs. The people there were of all ages and of varying medical problems. It wasn't a very quiet or restful night. I got very little sleep...I even cried to the nurse in the morning, hahaha...let's just say I was a little drugged. I eventually had an ultrasound in the morning and some more blood tests. Late Wednesday night I finally got to see a specialist. I'll let you guess what he wanted...can you guess yet? I had another blood test. Around 12:30am I was finally told that I could go home. The best that they could tell me was that I had some sort of stomach/intestinal bacteria infection. I was given some new medicine and surprise, surprise, more strict diet orders. There are some positive details to the story: at the end of the horrible trip to the hospital I had regained some of the weight I had lost and I came home with a bit of an appetite. By the end of the following weekend I felt a lot better. Throughout this entire process my friends from Adra gave me a lot of support. Marga and Sarah came to visit me first thing in the morning. Amor and Elena came to see me bringing me enough goodies and hygiene products to make anyone jealous. Elena came back to get me after midnight to finally bring me back to my own bed, sweet bed. So that's the story folks. It was a life experience. I'm just glad that it's all over.

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Comments

[anonymous]

silly me! so i just realized i didnt leave my name on that last entry..but who else would call u 'mon chou'..c'est Maame :-)