ER visit - YEEKS!

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Today was a terrible fright. 5am, Dick & I awoke due to the call for prayer at the local mosque. Dick felt fine. He pulled the covers on for the first time all night, thinking it normal early-morning chill. A minute later he said he felt feverish; I felt his forehead and confirmed his warmth. Then he asked for one cover, after another. Within minutes, he was practically convulsing with shakes, his head was turning purple and his temp was 102deg. The shakes went on for ½ hr, then, just as suddenly as they arrived, the shakes disappeared. His fever remained, so we went to the hospital. We had called an ambulance immediately, but ½ hour later, we decided a cab would be faster. That’s one thing about Bangalore that all locals will agree on; the ambulance system is not effective. On the other hand, auto rickshaws are exceedingly fast & efficient travelers.

Dick got pricked & prodded and they came up with a diagnosis; UT infection. We remain nothing but confident in the medical treatment and facilities here, as it was clear from the entire emergency room and oncology dept. hospital staff, that this isn’t something that typically happens following his treatment yesterday. We believe that Dick was particularly vulnerable to infection due to a weakened immune system arising from a combination of jetlag/insomnia, the hideous food poisoning he’d just recovered from (started in Mpls., not India), the numerous foreign bacteria and viruses we’re both newly welcoming into our bodies, and only finally, the invasive treatment from yesterday. (TIP: future medical tourists might want to wait a week before diving into invasive treatments).

His care all morning in ER was thorough and highly attentive. We never felt abandoned, or kept in mystery, like I’ve observed in ER’s back in the States. The docs shared what they were thinking every step of the way. EKG, blood tests, urine tests, and if that hadn’t solved the mystery, they were on the ready for a neurological specialist to come evaluate.

TOTAL BILL: for Dick’s ER bed from 8:45am to 12:30pm - all inclusive with tests and doc. consultations, antibiotic and fever-reduction meds… all for a grand total cost of about 1300 rupies (appx $30.00).

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