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Published: August 5th 2007
Dear friends,
You would not believe how the last twenty-four hours have been for us. Earlier this week we decided to go to Tikal along with other students from the language school. Tikal is one of the most famous Mayan archaelogical sites in Central America. We paid to reserve our spot on the trip, got packed up yesterday between the end of class and our departure time, then met the group at the school to leave. The school had reserved a private tour bus (one with about 20 seats) for the trip. Every seat was full, which is pretty normal for stuff like this. Sarah and I sat in the second to last row. There was a fair amount of construction on the highway, so it took us quite a while to get down the road.
We made our first stop at a gas station halfway between Xela and Guatemala City. Once we got back on the bus Sarah began to feel a bit sick. While we were still on the road she turned to me and told me she was going to be sick. Fortunately we were right next to an open window. She threw up on a couple unsuspecting cars. Our bus driver pulled over to let her breathe a bit.
The rest of the ride to Guatamala City was pretty miserable for her. She threw up one more time in the bus just before we arrived at the mall we would spend a couple hours at. She felt horrible. The driver dropped everyone off and went to take care of the bus. Sarah and I went into a restaurant and ordered her some tea. She also took an alka seltzer to see if it would calm her stomach.
Our guide from the school offered us a couple options. He said we could continue on and see if she improved over the course of the evening (8 more hours on the bus) or we could stay in Guatemala City at a hotel. Sarah was not in good shape, so we decided it would be best to forego the rest of the trip and just spend the rest of the weekend in the city. On the way to find a hotel Sarah got started to get sick again so the driver pulled over again and let her out. She threw up on the sidewalk.
We had just passed a hotel when this happened, so the guide went to see if they had space available. They did, so we grabbed our things and went to the hotel. Suffice it to say that it was not the kind of hotel we might normally stay at. We should have known when each room had a private garage and could be rented by the hour. We paid for the room through a slot in a metal door, and never saw the people who actually ran the place. The room was fine, the idea was just a little creepy. However, it seemed like the only option as Sarah was just getting worse. She needed to sleep, so we stayed.
The owners we never saw called at 7:40 this morning to let us know we had to leave by 8:00 so they could clean the room. We had twenty minutes to figure out what we needed to do in Guatemala City for the next couple days. We didn´t even pack a guidebook because we were expecting to be with the group and our guide from the school the whole weekend. When the lady called back at 8:00 I explained as best I could in Spanish that Sarah was sick and that we needed a doctor. I asked if it was possible to speak with someone in person. Of course it wasn´t possible. Silly me. She did offer to call a cab for us, which we accepted.
When the cab arrived I told him we needed to find a doctor because Sarah was sick. He took us to a multi-floor clinic. Over the course of the next two hours, Sarah saw the doctor, got some blood work done, and slept in an open dentist´s chair next door to the doctor´s office. The blood work was fine. She must have gotten a bacteria in the last couple days that caused her to get sick. We got a prescription on the ground floor and then walked a block to the Hyatt, which had no rooms available. We arrived 5 minutes before they closed their breakfast service, so I ate some food and Sarah drank some tea. The hostess was kind enough to special order some soup for Sarah, which she was only able to take a few bites of.
The front desk hailed a cab for us, and we asked to be taken to a hotel zone. He dropped us off at a hotel that had rooms available. The rooms were really pricey, so I bought a phone card and, with the help of the bellhops, managed to call our language school in Xela. The school gave us the information for the bed and breakfast we stayed at our first night in Guatemala. Fortunately they had a room open for tonight and tomorrow night.
I am writing this blog from the b&b while Sarah eats some peaches and bread and drinks some tea. What a 24 fours it has been!
Please pray for Sarah to recover over the next couple days. She has an appetite and has taken her second dose of medicine for her stomach already. Both good signs! The group will pick us up here on Sunday morning on their way back to Xela. As crazy as it has been, we are really grateful that God has been watching over us.
As an added bonus, please pray that I get over the cold I have. Thanks! We love you.
Drew (and Sarah)
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Dody
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Praying for you both
Just got your blog update and will begin praying immediately. I know this must have been a really hard 24 hours, but it sounds like Sarah is starting to get better Praise God. We will keep praying for both of you and so look forward to your updates. Dody for the whole Kettler Family