Hospital

I'm not surprised I ended up in the ER here. Ever since the first visit when I was 16, I seem to not be able to stay away from hospitals for too long. I take care of my body- I'm conscious of what I eat and I'm pretty active. I consider myself healthy. My weakness, however, is stress. And I usually don't realize the stress until I've exhausted my body's immune system and some part has shut down. They were my kidneys two weeks ago (the usual target), but this time it was my digestion system.

I wont go into the details but I think it was IBS or traveler's diarrhea. Anyways, I had horrible cramping pains so I went to the ER. I got set up with rehydrating fluids from the IV and several antibiotic shots. The first one went into my side, and let me just say, I had never experienced anything more painful than that shot. I gripped Sophie's hands and scream profanities at the top of my lungs until the nurse pulled it out and I cried for a minute after. Then when I turned on my back, still whimpering and eyes wet with tears, the nurse, without asking, stuck her fingers into my mouth and lifted my upper lip to see the back of my Monroe piercing. She let out a laugh and walked away. I was dumbfounded by what just happened and how she took advantage of my vulnerability, so I laughed too. Oh India.

Just when I was feeling better from the IV and ready to be discharged, the piercing pain returned. The doctor suggested I go to a bigger hospital with better equipment so Sophie and I climbed into the cab and went to another ER.

We had a wonderfully caring taxi driver. His name was Augustine. Pretty appropriate name considering it was Christmas Day and all. He waited for us, walked us through the hospital system, took us to the other hospitals (I went to three in total) and didn't ask for the fare. Of course I took care of him.

Now I have a goodie bag of various pills and the experience of being treated in hospitals in India. It was great. The doctors and nurses were attentive, the ERs weren't crowded so I was cared for immediately, and I just paid everything in cash up front. One thing that really stood out was how the doctors asked for my opinion instead of ordering a bunch of tests. They asked if I wanted an ECG and if I wanted to be admitted. I took the ECG but declined being admitted. It felt weird to have a choice. Maybe they give choices in the States or Japan, I mean I guess I could always say no, but I never felt like I had one.

Anyway, I'm feeling better now. I'm still recovering and still have pills to take but I'm sure that in a couple days I'll be ready to eat some masala dosas and dhal with my chapati.