Estabá muy enferma :(

Estabá muy enferma :(

Well it seemed like the inevitable happened.  I got deathly ill :(  Unfortunately I had to stay home from school yesterday AND today.  :/

It all began Tuesday when I found out that Deanna and Jaden had some sort of stomach bug.  Eduardo stayed home to take care of them and then he too got sick.  I kept my distance for fear of getting sick myself. However, right after lunch Tuesday afternoon I began to feel nauseous.  Jennea and I were on our way to Turrialba and I just ignored it and hoped that it would go away.  It did! We did a lot of shopping.  I had to buy some more school supplies, and a new pair of flip flops and a small backpack for school. I also purchased a small change purse and a cool looking bracelet.

My new backpack

My neat lookin' change purse. Great for all my bus fare

My two new bracelets and thumb-ring

We ended our day in this cute little hipster coffee shop called "Café Frio"  before heading back to Tuis.

This is Jennea and her Tirimasu

Our savory frozen coffees 

I finally arrived home in time for dinner, ate a reasonable portion of rice, beans a tomato slice and an egg, and then the nausea hit me.  After being sick, my host mother offered me "jugo de lemon" and put some sort of pill that made it fizzle and sugar.  I drank it up, but couldn't hold that down either.  She then sat me on a chair in the middle of the dining room with a cup of oil.  I thought (please don't make me drink that lol) She dipped her hand in the oil and began to massage my arms, near the elbow and my neck right underneath my ears.  I wasn't sure what was happening so I asked if this was normal they said yes.  At that moment, I was a little embarassed BUT I never felt such love from people who have only known me for one week.  I felt so taken care of.   

I wish I could end this story by saying that I got better and went to bed... but things took a turn for the worse.  I was so badly ill and could not keep anything down, even water, that my host mother had to call the school director.  By the time Hector came over my house, which was around 10:30, I was so dehydrated ànd disoriented that I couldn't talk, walk or stand on my own.  He rushed me to the emergency room in Turrialba which is about a 20-30 minute drive.  I am SO thankful to have had him there, Hector was my translator the whole way through and Macha also came with us to the hospital.  I was finally evaluated by a doctor, and when he asked me to stick out my tongue he could see how badly dehydrated I was.  I don't think I have ever been that sick in my entire life. 

They finally sat me down in  another room which looked like a waiting room.  There were chairs against the walls.  But then I realized... this is the emergency room.  You only receive a bed if you are an extreme case is what I was guessing.  At that point, ALL I wanted to do was  drink water and lay down, but I couldn't do either.  They gave me an IV, and took some blood tests.  It was finally determined that I have a bacterial infection in my intestines.  About 4 hours later, I finally finished the IV.  I felt my tongue wasn't as dry anymore, but I was not feeling any better.  I had less pain in my stomach but was still unable to hold down any food.  The other school director, Daniel, came and picked me up around 5am.  I came home, took 4 different med that I was prescribed, and went straight to bed.  I slept all through the night and all day yesterday.  Yesterday was a bit of a blur.  I kept checking my temperature and it was an average 100.4.  I tried everything to bring my fever down.  It finally went away this morning, I have a slight headache and my body is still getting rid of the tail end of my sickness BUT I am feel a LOT better.  My head still hurts a little and I am deathly afraid to EAT ANYTHING, so I am sticking to saltine crackers and water for now.  

Please be praying for all of us and our health.  I requested ongoing prayer specifically for this area because I know just how prone I am to getting sick, and with no health insurance... kinda makes me nervous.  I have no idea how much last night will cost me.. I honestly don't even remember paying.  I must say though, that the doctors were incredible here.  They were very young.. all looked to be around my age! But extremely nice, and helpful, and one of them spoke English to me very well.  They also had a pharmacy one hallway down from the emergency room and I was able to get all my meds there right on the spot.  Praise the Lord!

Well I'm going to attempt to drink some OJ.  Farewell for now!