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| Hospital visit number two. Don't I look Happy? |
We got into Kollam and started searching for a guesthouse to stay at. I was struggling to keep up with my pack on and was experiencing bad chills and hot flashes again. I couldn’t continue any further and luckily the boys were nice enough to continue the search for us. I was happy when they returned with a place to stay that was nearby. On the walk over Sofi touched my forehead to see if I felt hot and made a shocked face and told me I was boiling. I just kept telling myself that I would eventually feel better. However, later that night I was still suffering with a really bad fever and couldn’t take it anymore. I had Laura come with me to the hospital.
When we arrived it was around one in the morning and the hospital was deserted. Two nurses greeted us with confused glances and didn’t seem to know what to do with us. I told them my symptoms and they directed me to a chair where they took my temperature. I had a fever of 103 degrees. When they told me that I got a bit nervous because I knew that was a really high temperature. After waiting a bit they took me into see what I thought was a doctor. He got my symptoms and listened to my chest then pronounced that I had a respiratory infection. I was skeptical since I had had respiratory infections before and the symptoms were nothing like what I was experiencing. I looked at him strangely, I’m sure, and repeated my symptoms. I was sore all over, had a high fever, and was not coughing. Again he diagnosed it as respiratory infection. He gave me a shot to cut my fever and prescribed me five different medicines. I went back home hoping that my fever would go down and I would feel better soon.
At around 5am, after another sleepless night I woke Laura up to take me back to the hospital. My fever was worse than ever and I had sweat so much I looked like I had just jumped into a pool. This time I demanded that they do a blood test. The same doctor that had helped me a few hours earlier ordered my blood work and put me on an IV drip to rehydrate me. After they took my blood they gave me a small thimble size glass jar with a dime size opening at the top and pointed toward the bathroom. I was terribly confused and kept looking from the bottle to the nurse to the bathroom trying to grasp what she intended me to do with it. Yes, I was supposed to miraculously pee in it. Ok, let me just reiterate that the opening was at best dime size. DIME SIZE! I went in the bathroom and tried positioning this thing many ways and I couldn’t quite figure out how I would manage to get pee in the jar without also covering myself in pee. I had to just go for it and I wasn’t very successful. My hand was covered in pee. Oh well at least there was a sink to wash up in after. I returned to my bed and the same doctor came to check on me and told me to wait till the doctor arrived around seven to fully diagnose me. Great, he wasn’t even a doctor! I’m glad the medicine here only cost about a dollar. Both hospital visits combined cost about 25 dollars including all tests and medications. I can’t seem to work out in my head how health care can be so much more in the States. I am buying the same medicines here that cost hundreds of dollars back home. It makes you think.
When the doctor arrived he looked at my tests and concluded a really bad case of the flu. This was more in line with my symptoms. He advised me not to travel, which I smiled, nodded, and agreed to, knowing full well we intended to leave to Allepy later that day. I finished my drip got a new round of medications and headed back to our guesthouse where the rest of the gang was eagerly awaiting our return. They were please when I said I was willing to head out to the next destination. We packed up and headed out to the port to catch a ferry out to Allepy. What a horribly long trip. I’m sure had I not been passed out and delirious with fever I would have enjoyed the relaxing ride through the back waters. Yet, alas, I was not aware of anything.
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| Me enjoying the amazing ferry ride to Allepy |
Our stay in Allepy was not so exciting for me since I spent the entire time in bed staring up at the ceiling fan and sleeping. I couldn’t get my fever to break. I stayed in bed for four days, four sweaty, uncomfortable, lonely days. On the third day the rest of the group left to go on their backwater overnight boat trip. I stayed in my bed, which by now smelled of sweat and made me cringe to lay in it. In the six months that I have been away from home I haven’t really been homesick that much. There is just so much to keep me captivated. Laying there in that bed feeling terrible and dirty and alone I found myself feeling more homesick than I have felt in a long time. I wanted to be at home in my clean bed and have my parents give me medicine and soup. Yes I wanted my mommy and daddy. That was an extremely long day.
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| Me in my sweat covered bed in Allepy taking one of my many medicines. Sorry for the finger its not directed at you. |
I still had a terrible fever and I was starting to think that it would never leave. So yes, I made another trip to the hospital. This was a particularly scary hospital packed with sick people and screaming children. I put my name down and found a red plastic chair in the crowded waiting area and waited my turn. When I was called back I followed an Indian man dressed in traditional hospital white. He led me to a small room with two beds and about ten patients sitting, and standing where they could find space. The two doctors and three nurses added to the cramped conditions. The doctor took my symptoms and ordered a blood test. I specifically asked to be tested for malaria and dengue fever this time. Since the flu medicine wasn’t helping I only thought the worst. So again they took blood and they gave me an even smaller glass vile to pee in. I looked at it skeptically again and wondered if this was some cruel joke that they play on foreigners. I just know the second I go into the bathroom they are all going to burst out laughing. I just know it! Well, unfortunately, I was unsuccessful again and my hand was covered with pee again.
All samples collected, they led me to another room where I was told to wait. This room was only slightly bigger and had five beds in it. While the beds were dirty at least the room was empty except for one old woman. I sat at the edge of one of the beds and watched the room slowly fill up, one old person at a time. Soon all the beds were full. The old woman next to me had to use a bed pan and when the woman taking care of her removed it she spilled the pee all over the floor and nearly all over my feet. I don’t know how I would have reacted if it had in fact landed on me. I have had enough encounters with pee for a long time. I gave up my bed to a pregnant woman and sat at the edge of an old woman’s bed. At this point the room was packed and chaotic with guests and nurses clamoring about. I started to smell something foul. I thought to myself, is that shit? I turned to see that one of the old ladies had in fact pooped herself and her bed was covered in chocolate shake consistency poo. Oh dear, poor thing, but that put me over the edge and I left. I went back out to the main waiting room and figured they could find me there.
My blood work came back clean. No malaria or dengue fever. I did however have a urinary tract infection that the doctor said was keeping my fever from going away. So he gave me some more medicine and sent me on my way. A urinary tract infection!? Not sure how that one happened. All I cared about was that I felt better. Which, after the first day of my new medicine my fever broke. I had forgotten what it felt like to not have a fever. It was nice. I think in the last two weeks I had taken more medicine than I have in the last few years. I think I am doing a world tour of hospital at this point. Hopefully I can manage to stay out of them in the next few countries. All of them would be nice but I won’t push my luck.
By the way, I might not have mentioned it enough in my story, but it was great to have Laura there to run around and gather all of my medications and bring me food while I was stuck in bed. I don’t know what I would have done if I were alone.
Christina
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