I am in America.
Some of you know and some of you aren’t sure why. Okay, I was sick.
I flew in under the radar Tuesday.
I emailed my church leaders in the States to pray for me, and my other
leaders/church family were already in the DR with me for a mission trip to Santiago.
I really don’t like attention like this and people freaking out, so I
kept it hush until I knew if I was really sick.
I told Heather my flight and she picked me up in Tampa alone. She kept telling me to come home. Come home.
Love that girl. I felt bad not
letting my besties know, but I figured when I was cleared or sick, I could tell
them then with actual facts and details of what was going on.
It started about 3 weeks ago when I ate something that made me have to
use the bathroom 20+ times in one day. I
left school by 10AM because I had done to the bathroom 9 times by then. I was useless. Nausea, horrible headaches, and a knots in my
stomach. That persisted for just a day
or so, but the other symptoms stayed. I
would break into a sweat and my temp would say 97.5. It was so odd, but my temperature wasn’t a
fever. My headaches were a sign. It wouldn’t stop for 2 weeks straight and at
times, I would tear up at night because it wouldn’t go away. I finally caved and went to the local clinic. One of my admin went with me to
translate. I did blood, stool, and urine
testing for 45 pesos. That is about a
dollar. The same lady that was doing lab
testing came to take my blood. No gloves
were changed. She had trouble so she
pushed the syringe pump in and out a few times.
I was mortified, so was Elisse.
It left a lovey bruise, in which my doctor last night kept looking at it
in disgust and I turned to look at it and he blurted out sternly, “what
happened there??” (Definitely not a drug addict)
In the DR, the stool cup they gave me was a THE EXACT same cup you get
at chili’s for to-go BBQ sauce, with the little pop top lid. Let me stop here and say I don’t get
sick. I had no idea about even a “clean
sweep” as the nurse called it, last night in the hospital, to pee in a
cup. So asking me to defecate in a to-go
soufflé cup freaked me out. IF I am sick, I let my body take care of it without
medicine. I couldn’t see my Primary Care
Physician before I left to move to the DR because she had no idea who I was; I
went there maybe 6 yrs ago when I was hired by Polk School Board. I do not over exaggerate conditions, if
anything; I minimize it to be “nothing”.
Hence, the reason I have bacteria all over my freaking body because I
didn’t seek meds earlier.
In the DR, I went into the hospital clinic’s bathroom to go and I just
couldn’t. When I gave up and came out, I
realized there was no soap or paper towels for me to use. Thank goodness I didn’t try to figure that
out. Trevor adn Luke took me over to get my results. When I got my tests back, the nurse
gave me a Rx and I googled it when I got home and it was for parasites. Well, my lab work said there was an abundance
of bacteria and yeast and some blood in both my urine and stool, no parasites. So I sent my lab results to my nurse friends,
Susan, Kristen, and Casey and they guided me along the way of what to do. Miranda called Nikki and she helped as
well. I started Cipro. A few days later, my hot flashes were worse,
I was so lethargic, and my kidneys began to hurt.
I went to Santiago to see the mission team at church with Kels and
Anne-marie. I prayed on the drive down
for energy and no pain while I worshipped with them. He delivered. I felt so good. The drive home,
my kidney pain was worse, though. I
headed to church later that night with Kelsey to our local church to listen to
the worship music. I can’t get enough of
it. Sometimes, I skip out after the
music. That was my plan but by the end,
I was dizzy and sweating to death in the air-conditioned place. I’m real sensitive to A/C now that we live
without that crisp air. Here I sat in a
pool of sweat. I told Kels, Im walking
home in the middle/end of the song.
There is nothing that makes my heart smile more than worship music,
clapping, and singing as loudly as possible.
I was sitting down in my chair during the music cause I was so tired and
dizzy. I wondered if people thought I
was rude to sit. Got home. My
temperature read 96.5.
What the heck is going on?????
So frustrated. To the point of
tears.
That was the lowest I had seen.
Online said I should be freezing at that temp, unless I have a serious
condition, in which my body is freaking out, pretty much. I crawled into bed lying on my belly because
my kidneys were radiating heat and painful to lie on. I've never slept in a hospital before and my first time wasn't going to be there.
Naomi had texted me what she thought and I said to God I’m over people
telling me what they think and what I think!
I wasn’t panicking, but I knew I was sick and my emotions were
heightened because I have never had any kind of infections before other than a
respiratory one. So here I am with some
intestinal infection and my kidneys are on fire and I could barely walk 5
minutes up the plaza to Skype Summer because our power was out. I had never walked that slowly before and
almost caught a moto.
“Lord, do I need to go home or not!?
I know You can tell me! So be clear and tell me!” Naomi’s next text was that she prayed about
this and God is telling her that I need to go to the States. Of course.
She said, “I know you don’t need me to tell you what God is saying,
but…” Uh, yeah, I most certainly did
need help with what He was saying. Luke
and Nay got home and Nay came down to sit on my bed while I rested. Luke came down with us and prayed over
me. Go home. Ugh, I might.
I’m a brat. I got in bed and told
God that if my temp is still low w hot flashes the next day with that killer
headache, I will leave. So I woke up to
a 96 temperature again with hot flashes and a headache. Okay, I am out.
I went to school in the morning to get things in order and teach
Bible. Kathy told me to just go home,
this place will survive without. She
reminded me that school wasn’t as important as finding out what is wrong and
fixing it. Just go! Uh, I so needed those pushes because I hated
going all the way to America for treatment!!
Jaci got up super earlier for me took me over to the airport. As we pulled up, I was so thankful that the
mission team was in Santiago at this exact time and some of my boys could meet
me over at the airport at the BUTT CRACK to pray over me and send me off.
Okay, diagnosis: bacteria caused
an intestinal infection, then bacteria caused a bad UTI (first doc said that it
was a bad UTI but my only symptoms was kidney issues), and while I was sick
with these, I caught some sort of upper respiratory junk which was why I had
pain in my lungs breathing deeply. I
woke up the second night here and asked heather if a bear attacked me or if she
punched me in the back in the mid of the night because all my back muscles hurt
up to my neck, even my triceps and deltoids hurt. It was so odd.
I saw another doctor last night and he ran my blood and urine. He says
there is some bacteria still, but I am good.
After Cipro, they gave me Bactrum?, which is stronger. Cipro wasn’t clearing it up. He told me not to leave until the second
round of antibiotics are done and a day or two pass to see if I still have
symptoms/bacteria. I don’t know what he
will prescribe if Bac doesn’t kill it.
I had hot flashes this morning with some right kidney pain for the
first time in a day or so, not quite sure what the bs is about. I feel good, though. Tired, tired, tired, but overall good.
So I am in America for the week. I miss America when I am in the DR.
Is it odd for me to say I miss the DR?
I do. A lot.
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