Hi Everyone! We�re back again. A little sooner than normal because we took today (Monday) off so we�d get a day to relax when we�re NOT SICK! This posting will be called the WILL WE EVER GET BETTER?!?!?! posting because we were sick from Tuesday of last week �til Sunday, and we thought it would never end.
So here�s how the sicknesses went: Like we said in the last post, Tuesday we went straight to bed. The both of us had a pretty good fever, but we didn�t have a thermometer at this point, so we don�t know how high. Judging from later readings with our new thermometer (not a purchase we anticipated) it had to be around 104. Yikes. Wednesday we stayed home all day. Thursday we felt a bit better in the afternoon, so we walked to the internet caf� and posted the website . . . but what you didn�t know is that Pat just crashed after that. His fever came back and he started getting bad headaches. Alyssa was still feeling a little better and decided to go to work Friday, but Pat stayed at home. And that�s when the puking started. Pat threw up in the sink Friday afternoon and left it because he wasn�t in the proper frame of mind and too sick to move at that point.
Alyssa here�.I�m going to tell this part of the story because my life was altered by what I found. Just kidding. But it was intense. Anyway, I came home, I felt fine but all I wanted was a little nap. Instead, I found a sink full of Pat�s lunch�.and with no other options, I decided to clean it. I consulted our host mom and followed a series of her suggestions, each of which led from bad, to worse results. I�ll spare you the gory details here on the site but if you ever want the full story, you can ask. Let�s just say it involved a sinkful of puke mixed with water, a plunger, a broken sink stopper and my BARE HANDS!!!!!! Yes, my BARE HANDS!!!!! I place that on my list of top 5 worst cleanups�.Big Town Hero�s bathrooms still are up there though. We took Pat to the doctor after that and I forbade him even consider the sink in the future as a possible option when violently ill.
So we got our first ride in the family car as Grandpa drove Pat & Alyssa to the doctor. The strange part was that Pat healed right up at the doctor�s office and suddenly seemed perfectly normal. Normal temperature, no headache, not throwing up, nothing. The doctor seemed more interested in his diabetes than in him being sick. He came away with a prescription for some cough medicine (even though he told the doctor that he wasn�t congested and wasn�t coughing anymore) and a shot for nausea (in case the nausea came back).
Well, that night the nausea came back in full force for Pat. Plus Alyssa happened to get feverish and a headache. Neither of us could walk to the pharmacy, so we waited for our family to get from their trip to the market around noon to get the drugs. The shot that was prescribed was very unusual and frightening. And here, they must expect you to know how to take a shot or know someone that does, because it came with no directions. First of all, the vial is not an ordinary vial:
The Vial
There is no lid. There is no �open here� or �pull this tap to open.� We stared at it in a feverish daze for a while before bringing it down to our mom, and she flicked it a few times, then twisted it until the glass broke, which is apparently how it is designed to be opened, which we wouldn�t have guessed. And next is the needle:
The Needle
This is no little do-it-yourself at home needle. We were impressed by it. As you can see compared to Pat�s normal insulin syringe, it about 5 times as long and 3 times as wide. You see friends, this is a large needle. Alyssa was kind enough to stick this needle into Pat�s left cheek. Hours of screaming followed when the needle bent and we had to rush Pat to the hospital . . . just kidding, no screaming, bent needle etc. Alyssa is a good nurse and the shot wasn�t as bad as expected (maybe in comparison to the suffering Pat already endured). It is just shocking that people are expected to do this sort of thing at home. The medicine worked for the most part; Pat ended up puking twice more, but that would be the end of it. Here�s the proud nurse:
Proud or Scary? You be the judge!
Sunday we both woke up feeling mostly better. We took it easy; sleeping in, reading emails, and watching a movie is about all we did. Our family and Alyssa�s teacher both thought we possible had Dengue fever, but we really don�t know. It seemed like about 3 different sicknesses. But now it�s Monday, and we feel great, and we�re happy to be alive again, and in great spirits! Thank you God for making us feel better again.
Unfortunately, we don�t have exciting scenery pictures to show you this week, but we thought it would be fun to show you what we got to see all week, which is the just view out our bedroom door:
The View
For those of you that have asked for our address, it is:
Pat & Alyssa Keller
Colonia Candelaria #36
Antigua, Guatemala
CENTRAL AMERICA
