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Published: January 27th 2013
During the night I woke up several times feverishly itching where a fire ant had bit me the day before. I was mostly asleep and not really thinking. When I woke up in the morning I realized my foot was swollen around the bite for a pretty decent size section. I was slightly concerned but mostly just annoyed. We set out to find sunglasses and a "cut off" shirt for Dan and a swimsuit for me. Mine had accidentally been taken to the cleaners and put thru a washer and dryer and it was too small in some places and saggy in others so I needed a replacement. As we popped in and out of shops we took in the town and its gorgeous cathedrals. My foot had become swollen all over, my ankle ball was no longer visible and my skin felt so tight that it hurt. 3 separate blisters had came up as well and were continually draining which was very unpleasant to walk in. Our Google search said that swelling and a blister at the bite sight was normal so I just sucked it up.
We had dinner with Hanz and Maureen at a nice restaurant near where we were staying. I had a lovely blue icey drink. One of the coffee drinks Dan ordered they lit on fire and he had to chug. The menu did not reveal that it was one of their fire drinks so he was surprised and I think disapointed that he wasn't able to sip it. I however was amused watching him drink it and more amused at his reaction after he drank it, ha ha!
During dinner we heard drums and soon a parade was going by, it was great and we could see it from our table although we did end up going in the street too. I have no idea what the parade was for, there was a headless guy with a cross, grim reapers, devils, tall strange ladies with long hair and other interesting looking creatures and characters. I love that unexpected things like that happen on our trip. I don't think I have ever been in the states and randomly had a parade go by while I was out.
The next day Dan went tobogganing down a volcano, some of the others boarded down, I couldn't go because my foot was still really swollen. I was bummed but it also sounded a bit scary to me so I tried not to be too disappointed that I couldn't go. I caught up on blogs while they were gone and then decided that I should see a doctor about my foot. I wrote out in Spanish what had happened to my foot and how long it had been swollen, I knew after I looked up all the words that I wouldn't remember how to say that all in Spanish so it was good I wrote it down. I walked to the hospital which was really close. I had apparently not went in the correct entrance and the security guard was trying to figure out what I wanted. After I showed him my note he walked me downstairs and told the check in ladies that I couldn't speak much Spanish and showed them my note. I wrote down my name and where I was staying and he told me to wait till they called my name which was like 3 minutes. The whole time I was feeling pretty anxious, like my walk to the hospital and thru it. On the walk in I had seen some very sick people in beds and took in the poor quality of the building itself. The elevators didn't work and most everything was crumbling. What if they make things worse I was thinking to myself. I was already there though. I showed the doctor my note and he examined and pushed on my foot and quickly told me it was infected. I went to a room and sat on the table, he took iodine on a cloth and rubbed the blistered skin off which obviously hurt. Blood and iodine splattered on the floor. When he was done there was an inch and a half section of skin gone, layers and layers of skin down to the tissue or so it looked. He covered it with gauz and wrapped up my whole foot; during this time I was looking around the room and most everything was rusty. I was so glad that I wasn't here for something more serious. He told me that humidity was really bad for it and that I couldn't swim for a week and to keep it covered all the time. He wrote a prescription for an antibiotic. He was trying to tell me something else but I didn't understand. He asked the other doctor if he spoke English and he said no but that he could write it. He handed me a note that said clean skin every day and no swimming. I was feeling pretty devastated because we were going to the Pacific coast the next day. I went to the pharmacy which was in the hospital and when my turn came and I handed her the paper she said "No hay" which means they didn't have what I needed. Oh man I thought, I had heard my Dad say many times that every time they went to the pharmacy in Cuba with a prescription they said the same thing. Crap what am I going to do if I can't get antibiotics, a vision of my foot being amputated came to mind. Such a great imagination I have 😉 I went to the pharmacy that was across the street and they had what I needed thankfully! Whew not in communist Cuba I thought happily! It cost less than $3 for the drugs which surprised me although it shouldn't have because the benadryl I had bought the day before was next to nothing as well.
I met Dan at Bigfoot where he was to conclude his volcano adventure. When I told him about my foot he said I'm sorry I hope you aren't mad at me. "Why?" I exclaimed! "Because I told you that I didn't think there was anything wrong with your foot" the look on his face was full of regret but cute. "I'm not mad" I told him. I mean sheesh it's not like he is a doctor, I didn't know if there was actually anything wrong either but I figured the fact that ice wasn't helping at all and that it had been so swollen for two days was not a good sign.
We ordered a couple Mojitos and chatted with other people at Bigfoot. Heard a crazy story about a car accident that a girl had been in years ago. I had asked about her scars and she told us she was crossing the street where she shouldn't have been and was hit by a car. She was in a coma for 50 hours and one of her arms was totally out, they screwed it back in. I guess they thought she was going to die, her Dad was near the north pole and thankfully was able to get a flight that day. When she had finished telling us the story she said love life, don't ever take it for granted and I nearly cried. It was such a long compelling story when she told it and it did make you think. She said her brother was 10 at the time and they used to fight all the time but after that they didn't fight even once. What an impression that must have made on a 10 year old boy, seeing his sister near death. After all that here this young woman was traveling and enjoying life, it just makes you smile =) A second chance not squandered.
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Isabel
non-member comment
Your hospital visit sounds like it was a bit anxiety inducing! I can so vividly picture it. Rick and I are enjoying reading your tales. I'm impressed you were able to write a note to convey your need at the hospital. The spanish lessons must have really helped!