If it's not one thing, it's another

Last week, it was typhoid. Yesterday, our internet was down. I tell you, what a country!

On top of it, the only person ever to be early, is the guy who picks up the laundry. They says to me, they says, "As long as you drop it off by 3pm, no problem". Well, I show up at 2:58pm (yes, cutting it close, but nothing's ever on time!) and they guy came and left 15 minutes early!

Man.

Anyway, about the typhoid. So, pretty much since I got here, I was having bouts of sickness to varying degrees. A little vomiting here, some runs there, nausea, some more runs over there, and so on. I figured that there were a few possibilities (none including a disease famously contracted by Abigail Adams and Charles Darwin), like getting accustomed to the food, the altitude, a flu of sorts, or just whatever. At one point, as avid readers will know, I went to see a doctor at the Santa Elena Hospital who prescribed anti-biotics. They seemed to help for a week or so

Finally, after one memorable all-nighter of vomiting and not being able to keep down even small amounts of water, we (go M!) decided that I should go back to the doctor and see what the heck was going on. It just didn't make sense that I was so sick, so often. I am rarely ill back home, so what's the deal?

At the doctor's office - with the help of Arturo from the language school - we discussed various things, and finally he recommended a blood test. I agreed, and minutes later, a large man busted in the office all out of breath with a needle in one hand, a vial or two in the other, and nary a glove in sight.

Hm.

Ok, I thought, as long as I see him open the needle package, at least there's that. I don't see any open sores on his poking hand, so I should be ok.

Turns out, they aren't much for gloves in the hospital here - a fact made more ironic by the doctor telling me that the biggest reason they have problems with typhoid and other similar illnesses is because people aren't careful with washing hands, etc.

Great.

I did actually see some gloves in use as I walked by a doctor's off this week, but unfortunately, they were being used by the person cleaning the windows. Ah well.

So, they take my blood, and about 20 minutes later, the guy gives me a sheet with a whole list of different diseases with X's next to them, and one big check mark next to Typhoid. There's some numbers too, and the doctor looks at them, looks up and me, and then checks the numbers again. These are big numbers, and I have lots and lots of typhoid.

He suggests that I immediately start with a shot of antibiotics in my butt. Well, I wasn't so sure. Ok, he says, then you should come stay in the hospital overnight and get antibiotics by IV. Eh, I thought, I wanted to get another opinion. I told him that I needed to talk to my parents (which isn't crazy - they're both nurses) and that I'd either come back that day or the next.

After consulting with my parents, my doctor back home, and the internet, we decided that I'd try cipro for a few days first. It felt good to have a plan. Then we heard from the tropical disease specialist that M went to before coming, and he said that I should listen to the local doctor and immediately check in to the hospital. Oy.

So back to the hospital we go and we tell them that I'd like a room for the night.

It wasn't the cleanest hospital room I've ever been in, but it was big, private, had cable tv, wireless internet and M could stay over too, in a big fluffy chair straight out of the first class section on an airplane. Truth is, it was bigger than our studio apartment.

I changed into my backless gown (muy elegante) and jumped into bed. Within minutes, the nurse (oops! student nurse!) was trying to get an IV needle in my arm. After succeeding in only creating a bubble of saline solution under my skin, an actual nurse was called in. She managed to hit the vein this time, and I was floating away on a cloud of liquid antibiotics.

More later!!