And The Sickness Ensues... Then Improves

---

On Saturday morning after the Galapagos we found a new hostal nearby and moved in. Evan slept all day because he was miserable. He went between the bed and the bathroom all day and night. I stayed with him and kept trying to make him drink water and gatorade or to eat something but it was really painful for him. Sunday was just about the same and I went to the farmacy to find out whatever I could. The pharmacist thought it was just probably something he ate or drank so she gave me a few things. I brought them back and told Evan to take them only if he wanted to because we had been told that pharmacys often prescribe medication without sufficient information so you never know if you should be taking the medication. He took one that was a powder you mix with water to help your stomach. After talking to his mom she said she was really concerned. We were almost sure he had a fever and had lost a lot of fluids and weight. I called the hospital and asked if we should come in and they said yes. We took a taxi to the hospital around 7 that night and went right in to the emergency room. The doctor was really nice and she asked lots of questions. I translated for Evan but I made sure to ask him if he felt comfortable with me translating. He said he was really fine with it and was happy to have me there. There weren´t any complicated medical terms either so I felt ok too. They took his temperature, poked around, took blood and stool samples, and immediately put an IV in with a saline solution to replenish his fluids. They also gave him something for his stomach pain and fever. After the IV you could see his whole body change and both the doctor and nurse kept telling us how much better he looked. We were in communication with his parents the whole time which I hope made them worry less. She told us that he had a parasite from food or a drink and that he would be fine. She gave him three prescriptions to take for 5 days. We left around 1 in the morning and luckily the taxi driver knew of a pharmacy that was open 24 hours. Everyone was really relieved and happy that we went to the hospital because he just wasn´t getting any better.

I became Nurse Andrea for Evan, waking him up at 6 to take pills and reminding him throughout the day to drink and drink and drink some more. Every day he did much better and was able to eat little by little. I was so happy that he was feeling better and recovering really well. Unfortunately I started feeling a little sick and my legs were hurting (like growin pains, but obviously I am not growing) and I think it was from laying in bed all day and only eating about once a day. Too much sleep really kills your body. On Wednesday I finally felt better and he was doing really well. We called my host mom to pick up our stuff from her house and she said we could come over later that night. After having a delicious sandwich, we stopped by CIMAS to pick up a package and to get my grades. I did really well (and so did everyone else!). Since we had time to kill we went down the street and the only movie playing was Chuck and Larry. It was awful. Don´t ever see it. Ever. We walked over to Gladys´house and told them about Evan´s sickness, packed up our stuff and left. Vanessa said she would have my money the next day and that they would call me on Thursday to wish me a happy birthday. At midnight that night I ate a brownie that my mom had sent with Evan for me to celebrate my birthday.

---