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Published: January 31st 2009
All I could think about as I lay in a Ghanaian hospital bed, enveloped by the 100+ degree room, was Andrew Zimmern's (host of "Bizzare Foods" on the Travel Channel) slogan, "If it looks good, eat it!". Well Andrew, it looked good, I ate it, and now am sprawled out across a rickety hospital bed, trying to manage holding my IV bag with my teeth whenever the frequent call of nature arises. Thanks.
On Monday night, Reem and I were coming home from school late and hadn't eaten dinner. We figured our Mom would be asleep so we decided to pick something up on the way home. There was a crowd of locals around a chop bar near our house so we assumed that the place would taste good, be cheap, and be relatively safe. As the woman was dishing up our food, I thought to myself, "This probably isn't the greatest idea but I've been to some pretty disgusting Taco Bell's in my life, so really, what's the difference?" Oh how wrong I was. As we continued home, we were unaware of the fact that in our hands, we carried not simply "food bought on the street" but monstrous "STREET FOOD" vividly described in almost every travel literature regarding every developing country.
This "STREET FOOD" was surprisingly delicious; warm steamed rice mixed with spaghetti and vegetables topped with a spicy red sauce. Unlike me, Reem was smart enough to avoid the bacteria-teeming onions in the sauce and was spared of any sickness. The next day, I had a very weird feeling in my gut that I wasn't able to describe. I didn't eat much and went to bed around 6:30 without any dinner. By 9, the gastrointestinal excitement had started and I found myself either rushing to the bathroom or somewhere between being awake and being asleep for the majority of the night.
I got out of bed around 7 and went to talk to Reem. I could feel my stomach churning and vision blurring as we conversed and I was forced to cut the conversation short and rush to the bathroom. The faster I walked, the more useless my eyes became. I blacked out for about 30 seconds and came to clutching a wall trying to keep from falling on my face. In 9 hours I had become so dehydrated that I could barely stand. After calling the Program Director, we decided it was time to go to the hospital.
Upon arrival at the Trust Hospital in Osu, I felt my already unstable stomach drop even further at the sight of more than 100 people in the waiting room. But as soon as I started vomiting and blacking out in the waiting area bathroom, I was rushed to the front of the queue. Slumped over in a wheelchair I saw a doctor, was prescribed treatment, then wheeled up to Ward B and placed on a bed in a room with 4 other people and only one small fan to help relieve us from the sweatlering heat and humidity.
I had some friends come to visit but I spent the majority of my 36 hour hospital stay alone, acknowledged only occasionally by the passing doctor or nurse. With nothing to read, watch, or listen to, I was bored out of my mind and resorted to playing stupid mind games with myself to pass the time between naps and bouts of shivering caused by a fever. I was discharged on Thursday afternoon after receiving 5 1/2 liters of fluid and 2 rounds of IV antibiotic.
The physical lesson learned from nature was complimented by scoldings and lectures from my mom, brother, 2 doctors, and countless nurses. I, Jake Galloway, promise to never again eat food from a sketchy chop bar...unless it looks really, really good.
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wilson
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galloway
jake thats why i would never go eat crazy food with you at home, obviously i knew that it would get you mad sick lol