The joys of trying new food in a foreign country. I got to experience so many different tastes and aroi (delicious) foods! I had sushi almost every night I was in Bangkok from a night market vendor. I would get octopus, shrimp, seaweed, fish eggs, an egg, tuna, crab, salmon and any other roll that looked colorful and interesting. I had so much fun trying new foods! I have no idea what a lot of menus are saying, so sometimes I would just point to an item on the menu to try it. Other times I would cruise around the market and point to an item to buy to eat for lunch. Some of the items were really delicious, and sometimes they were so spicy and would make my lips sweat.
One morning in Bangkok I woke up and my chest was bothering me and it hurt to breathe. I ignored it thinking it was just something that had to do with the air quality. It is much cleaner than India and Nepal, so I was just hoping that it was just an accumulation of all the bad air that was causing the pain. The next day, I was able to google+ chat with my family at home and share what was going on. It was a huge blessing to be able to have reliable internet where we were in Bangkok and that my parents were watching the Utes Football game that night with their good friends. One of these friends is a wonderful nurse and was able to tell me to follow my mother's advice and go visit a doctor. Another friend lived overseas as a missionary kid and was able to help give me advice on where to look up information to visit a doctor.
I did not want to go to the hospital, but I was on day 2 of pain in my chest.
I was so scared that I used WebMD and looked up my symptoms and slept the rest of the day because the rest of my team had gone out to go tour some of Bangkok.
The next day I woke up and was in so much pain. I couldn't swallow anything without it hurting and really struggled with breathing and sleeping. I discovered the day before that it was my esophagus that was having pain. I was thankful that I was able to have narrowed down the symptoms but was still concerned with why I was hurting there.
One of my team mates encouraged me to go to the doctor because it was now day 3 of pain. I started crying. I did not want to go to a hospital! I did not want to be in pain, I wanted to be at home with my mother. I was scared.
I asked my team leader if she would take me to the hospital. This was now her third visit to the hospital since being on the World Race, all for other people on our team. I went downstairs and we informed the team that we would not be joining them in church but that we were going to the hospital. The team prayed over me and while they were praying I was immediately covered in my Father's peace.
I did not know what was going on with my body, but I did know that I was not alone and that my Daddy already knew.
My team leader and I then went on our way to the clinic that was just down the street. They weren't able to help us because the power was out at the clinic. That was interesting because we had not heard about the power every going out in Thailand. However, the doctor and nurse was able to give us directions to one of the hospitals nearby. They drew out a map, told us which bus to get on and wrote down in Thai the place that we needed to get to so that if we got lost, someone would be able to help us reach our destination.
They were a huge blessing.
After our bus ride and finding the hospital, we walked in and our mouths just dropped. We were in a hospital that had a live band playing the cello, flute and piano, and wonderful customer service. We walked in and a lady greeted us asking what we needed and helped us fill out the form. I described what kind of pain I was in and she led us to the area of the hospital that I needed to be in. I had my vitals taken and then was directed to another area to go sit down and wait. When it was my turn, I was in so much pain. I couldn't swallow without cringing. I was greeted by a doctor and explained my symptoms, where I was hurting and when I hurt the most. After about 2 minutes of speaking to the doctor, he then told us that we were completed and to go wait outside to pick up the medicine. I looked over at my team leader and just said, "OK. That was quick."
We waited out in the lobby, tried translating what the people were saying on the TV and waited. When my name was called, I walked up to the cashier praying that I would have enough Baht to pay for the medical bill.
I had enough!
Medication: 1,356 Baht
Nursing Charges: 90 Baht
Other Medical Charges: 70 Baht
Doctor Fee: 500 Baht
TOTAL: 2,016 Baht.
$63.58
Wow.
I then went over to the pharmacy and received my diagnosis and all my pills. I received 5 different bags that helped with stomach discomfort, gastric ulcer, muscle relaxants. I found out that I was diagnosed with dyspepsia and myalgia. I guess I have a stretched muscle from my stomach pains.
The doctor discovered that in 2 minutes.
I believe that I have an ulcer in my esophagus because of all the foods that I ate, especially the really spicy food, the change in environment and the stress from the week before.
Or I just have a couple of octopus tentacles clinging to my esophagus, that could explain why I am in so much pain.
The octopi are trying to climb out and clinging to my esophagus and making holes while they have their tentacles suctioned to me.
I have been taking medicine for the past 3 days and am not in pain when I first take the medicine, but it wears off quickly. I have stopped eating spicy or citrus foods. I also have learned to swallow smaller bites and that really seems to help with the pain.
Please pray for continued healing. The pain has now transferred over onto not only my esophagus but also to the right side of my chest. I am near a hospital if needed, however, I would like to rely on God and God alone to heal me. I do not want to make another visit to the hospital, even though they are really great here. 🙂
