After the Rain Came Sunshine and a Cool Breeze
We have added two videos to the blog. One is on September 12th, The Best Day so Far and the other is on Sept. 17 Over the Indus...
Luke has been feeling pretty crummy with a bad cough and a lot of mucous for a few weeks now. It started back in Leh, but he was still feeling OK in spite of it all. A few days ago, he started to feel worse and needed so much sleep to make it through the day. Yesterday, we woke up and went to breakfast; after, he couldn't even take the few morning koras around the stupa that we usually take. He needed to lie down and he looked like he felt horrible. I took his temperature when we got back to the hotel and it was 99.9 so I gave him some ibuprofen and put him to bed. He slept, I went out for a few hours at a time and then I came back to check on him. I went out a farewell dinner for a friend who was leaving for the Everest base camp trek while Luke slept, when I got back to the hotel and took his temp, it was 101.0. Twenty minutes later it was 101.9, then 102.0 , then 102.3 and I started to get scared and because it is festival here still and the many of the clinics are closed, even during the day we found out later. It was after 11:00pm now and the owner of our hotel, Martine, thought we should take him to a clinic for foreigners over 40 minutes away. After talking with her, I came back upstairs and told him that he needed to take more ibuprofen and that we had to get his fever down, otherwise we would need to get a night taxi to go to this clinic. We both wanted to avoid this at all costs. I had just looked online and saw all these websites that offered that adults should not allow fevers to get over 103-104 without heading to the emergency room, and with his fever still climbing and the clinic far away, I started to get scared. Martine's concern for him also made me realize that this is serious. So after he swallowed the 3 Advils, we put one of the plastic patio chairs into the shower (no tub) and he sat under the coldest water we could pull from the tap for 26 minutes. I added the extra minute just to be sure. He was so cold and so unhappy at first that it made me cry. He then just went inward, somewhere, and he settled into the long minutes. I felt so guilty that I stood in there with him, rubbing his cold, shaking back and his head.
And then the time was up and he dried him off. He put on his long undies, socks and hat and into bed he went. Fever post shower, 99.6. Blessed be. He check his temp until about 1:00 and then I fell asleep too.
This morning, his fever stayed low, so we went out for breakfast again. We spoke with Martine on the way out and she told us the name of a local clinic for foreigners. We were going to grab some food and then head there. He started to feel badly right away. Hot and cold. And he felt really warm again, though I hadn't brought the thermometer with me when we left. We walked over to the clinic, but when we got there, the sign on the gate said closed because of the festival until the 14th, the full moon. (FYI, in case you are needing postage stamps, the official post office is closed until after the full moon day too---true.) There was a French nurse who was leaving the gate as we knocked and she called for an English-speaking Nepali woman to come help us. They directed us a local hospital emergency room where the docs see Nepalis and foreigners. The helpful woman walked us to a taxi and explained to the driver where she wanted him to take us. When we arrived they had Luke lay on one of the open beds. The room was wide open with about 6 beds; 4 of them had a patients lying on them. The nurses where helpful and spoke English with us. They asked the routine questions, looked as his throat with a depressor and a flashlight and took his vitals. They asked for a urine sample. He gave them one. They felt his belly and agreed that he didn't have typhoid. (we had a vaccination at home anyway.) Then they sent someone to draw his blood, at this point, I insisted that this not be done. I knew this would not be called for at home, that he would be sent home with a Rx for amoxicillin and we would be on our way. The phlebotomist then insisted too and began to wrap the tubing around Luke's arm. Freeze frame: I am tired and very stressed. I am going back between 3 different rooms around the first floor of the hospital with forms to get other forms. I am trying to talk to the doctor, talk the nurses and talk to Luke. There are families milling around every other patient in that room scrambling with their own forms. There have been 2 different women who have gotten injections on the same examining table without the sheets getting changed between; so, perhaps, those spots on sheets that Luke was lying on were not actually stains, but something a little more recent. I am also concerned about saying no to something that he may have needed and that maybe I was wrong about. Luke is looking at me and I keep saying "No" to the guy. Then I tell Luke, that he needs to make the final call. I don't know what to do. He then tells the guy "No" again and the matter is finally settled. Later, I find out that the bathroom that he had just given his urine sample is in deplorably unclean. The needle he was going to use was new. It was in a sealed package, but still, "No." Not with these symptoms. After Luke gets a quick visit from the very handsome and young Nepali doctor, the doctor finally sends me off with a Rx and a bill. I then find out that we don't have enough money on us. Maybe enough to pay the bill, but then no Rx and no taxi home. I promise to the ladies at the billing office that I will come back tomorrow to pay the rest of the bill. I could even take Luke home and then return later that afternoon, but the hospital instead forgave 1/2 the bill and the ladies smiled at me and told me to feel better soon. thank you. Understandably, the pharmacy assistant was not able to be so generous on the pills and sent us home with only 2 days worth of pills, but we could get the rest later. That left 100 rupees to get us back in a taxi. We got outside, Luke was still feeling horrible, and we grabbed a taxi. I asked how much to Boudha Gate. He said 200 and I answered, "Please, 150," thinking I should be able to find 50 more rupees in one of our pockets or the bottom of our bag on the way back. Even at 150, the guy was totally taking us, since it was a very short distance: 150=$2 so it is still cool. At this point it is down pouring, the fringe of the monsoon is coming down on us and the streets are flowing too. We can't find anymore rupees on the ride back, so I have the driver take us to the ATM. I go to get out the umbrella, but the umbrella did not make it into our sunny-morning-departure bag. Damn it. I hopped out of the car and popped inside the ATM to find 2 gentlemen waiting out the tremendous raindrops in the ATM booth and the machine is blinking OUT OF SERVICE....I climbed back into the taxi where Luke and the driver are waiting for me. I told the driver that the ATM was out and that we had only 100 rupees, still 50 short. He did not like this. And then I stared to cry. I cried and my face got all twisted and red. I was moving toward sobs. I kept telling him I was sorry, but I had no more money and no way to get more. At this he felt very badly and said, "OK, OK, OK." and "OK, please." and begins to wobble his head in the way that means, "We have a deal." He let us go for 100 rupees, with some thank-yous and hands-to-heart Namastes as we moved across our seats and out the car door. We then walked to our tired bones back to the hotel in the cool, post-monsoon rainfall.
Oh, man. That just wore me out again, but I owed those details to some concerned friends.
When we got to the hotel, Martine brought us more dry towels and a tray of hot tea, cookies and honey. She is very kind to us, and to everyone who stays here. She is from Holland and her husband, Lopsang, is Nepali. They guide expeditions together and just bought this hotel in June. They are also 6 months pregnant and are just so cute together.
Tonight, Luke and I were able to get a hold of Guy, my dear brother-in-law, who is also an MD. (plus he is handsome and funny as can be--like me, my sister totally scored in the hubby department!) He and my sister were driving Max, Sam and Maggie, our nephews and niece, to Wisconsin for some fall camping together; we caught them just before they got to their site. Guy told me that we are right on course to helping Luke feel a lot better soon. If what he taking right now doesn't make a big difference in 2 days, we already have the cipro which is Plan B. I also now know I don't need to be too worried about a fever until even 104-105--this means no more nearly unbearable cold showers until at least 104.
I am tired. Luke is tired too, though feel a little bit better and catching up a few emails for work. I am going to hop in the shower and then put him and myself to sleep.
I know we are behind on photos but we will try tomorrow.
oxo
