OK, so you know those stories that are never fun in the
moment, but sitting there, you know that eventually, you’ll look back and
laugh?
That’s where I am right now, except, I haven’t quite made it
to the “remember that one time” part yet.
And that’s mostly because I’m still sitting in a Guatemalan
hospital with an IV in my wrist. And in case I ever doubted, this much I know
for sure: I am not a fan IVs. (I’ve been begging the nurses to take it out
since it was put in. I’m not sure they understand my English, or I’m sure they
would have done it already…) Actually, Rose had to sing to me as I was getting
it put in…
“If you want this
choice position, have a cheery disposition. Rosy cheeks, no warts…”
Or in my case, an amoeba and a parasitic worm.
Allow me to start at the beginning.
A few days ago, two of the 16 people here in Chimaltenango,
Guatemala were feeling pretty sick so they went to get tested for parasites and
tested positive. They spent the night in the hospital getting meds and getting
rehydrated.
A day or two later, a few other people started feeling sick,
and decided to get tested. I was fine though, just annoyed that Mary Poppins
wasn’t playing on my computer and my nose wouldn’t stop running. That’s when
Alys came running up to my tent semi shouting “Stacy, do you know what’s going
on?”
No.
“We’re all going to the hospital to get checked for
parasites, just in case. If you’re coming, you have about a minute.”
An adventure. OK, sure. Besides, Mary Poppins isn’t working
anyway.
Well, I’m not sure if you know this, but “getting checked
for parasites” consists of sending a stool sample to the lab. For those of you
who need a more graphic explanation… this requires pooping in a cup. And let me
tell you, 9 girls sitting in a hospital room one by one trying to poop in a cup
is a rather amusing situation that I won’t easily forget.
About an hour later, the nurse arrived, and with fairly
decent English, proclaimed:
“You all have a
parasite!”
Excuse me?
“Actually, most of you have two.”
That’s the category that I fell into. And that’s how I found
myself sitting here in bed in a Guatemalan hospital with an IV in my
wrist.
OK. So let me jump off topic and say a few words about the
Guatemalan health care. We sent our lab results in collectively, collectively
got results, and I wound up in a bed with an IV before ever speaking with a
doctor. This is more than likely because we were in such a large group, and
they wanted to speed things up. And to that point, I’m pretty sure I’d still be
waiting on results in the States, without even a hint of an IV yet. It also
amused me that it was about 6 hours after getting an IV that I had my blood
pressure checked. Also, we managed to fill up every single bed, cot, and
mattress that the hospital owns.
HOWEVER… despite the lack of health records, clipboards,
wristbands, and a pretty big language barrier, every nurse here knows my name.
And, they’ve come to check on my IV at least every 10 minutes all afternoon,
evening, throughout the night, and into the morning. They even personally
escorted me to the restroom multiple times to carry my IV bag for me, despite
the fact that it’s on wheels.
So despite my hatred of IVs and needles, and despite this
being my first overnight hospital experience, and despite the fact that I have
multiple parasites, and despite the fact that as an added precaution, our diet
for the next three months is pretty strict, I’m sure things could be a lot
worse. Hey, at least I never got sick.
And like the song, I’m pretty sure God is calling out to me
singing “If you want this choice position, have a cheery disposition.” Apparently, the best way to handle any
situation is with a smile and a laugh, because eventually, we will look
back and say “remember when…”.
