Day 106-Tuesday, April 24th, 2012.

Day 106-Tuesday, April 24th, 2012. 

So I promised my mom last night I would go to the doctor today. After I do service and try and postpone it as long as possible, or so I thought in my mind when I promised. I went next door and asked Mayka if she could show or tell me where the doctor was. And she said she wanted to take me because it is in Reio Sereno. Apparently here the 'Centro de Salud' (Heath Center) only takes people in from opening hours to 3. That is IF they have enough employees there. Its apparently not the best place for actual medical treatment and Mayka wasn't sure if they would actually see me, seeing as I am a foreigner. So we decided that after service at around 3 we would go. "IF I feel better, I won't go. And I will tell my mom I got over whatever it is I had." Well…walking to the service meeting I started feeling sickish again. And I knew once at the Kingdom Hall, service today was NOT going to happen! But I sat through the meeting for field service and then walked back home. I stopped in Mayka's store because I suddenly had a HUGE craving for a Pear Juice. And I figured its juice it aint gonna hurt me. I told her all my symptoms and she kept saying ''I wonder what you could have?!" All I was thinking is 'I know, right?!' Well I sat down with her in the store. She just bought a new rocking chair and told me to try it out. I almost fell asleep in it. Im was SO tired. And I hadn't even done anything. Just the walk to the Kingdom Hall (less then 5 minutes) and the walk back (less then 5) made me super exhausted and I had no ganas to do anything. BUT I knew I had to get my laundry done because tomorrow I be needing some unders! So I told Mayka I was going to go home, and she said ok. To be ready at 3. And we would go together. Sounds good to me! I went inside sat on my bed for like 2 seconds and then faster-then-lightening was running to the bathroom as fast as Chuck Norris runs. Yeah THAT FAST! Almost didn't make it. Ah! The joys of being sick. I decided that even though a felt like poo. I needed to do things around the house. 'Laundry first!' I thought to myself after regaining my composure. Usually laundry takes me about 45 minutes to do, I have to do it by hand. :D Well I had about ½ the amount I usually have, so I figured it should take me half the time right?! WRONG! Oh so wrong! I started on my laundry at like 9:30-9:45 a.m. All I kept thinking about while I was washing was 'I don't feel good. I need to lay down. I fill sick' I had to stop twice to Chuck-Norris-Run for salvation. Then I came back and kept working. While hanging my now clean clothes all I felt was 'I feel like Im going to pass out! Move faster!' But I was moving so slow I felt like I was a movie put on pause and then forwarded at the same time. (Who knows what Im talking about?) Mayka popped her head out and said I thought you would have finished already. I responded by saying so did I, it was just taking me longer. She replied with a sad smile and said well don't forget to eat anything. 'Eat? EAT!' Thats my problem I was so scared of puking up everything all I ate today was part of a cookie and one cup of coffee.

I watched my hands as they hung up the last shirt. And slow-motion put my soap and water bottle back into my backpack and walk back to the door. 'Why is everything so slow?!' I ask myself out loud. But of course, I get no response. 'Food.' I tell myself after standing in the kitchen for a few minutes. I whip together a little bit of a sad excuse of pasta. And grab a bowl of left overs, and Im off to my room. Once I sit down, I look at the clock. 12:30! How many hours did it take me to wash a few pieces of clothes?! All of a sudden I break out in a sweat and the room starts spinning. I close my eyes and the next thing I know I am waking myself up to eat something. Spoon goes into the bowl, food goes into my mouth, food gets chewed, I swallow it, and my eyes close and head sinks back down onto my make-shift pillow. (My pillow consists of my black jacket and 2 towels. Nice right?! You have no idea!) I wake myself up again, cold from the breeze coming in and the sweat I now have all over me. Its raining. EAT! I take another few bites and Im out again. My movie has no effect on me what-so-ever, and I realize this because the scenes I see aren't matching up. EAT! Finally my bowl is empty and I place it on the floor. I wake up to my phone ringing beside me. Im still face down, my fingers still ?! PHONE! Its Mayka she says we have about 30 minutes to be outside. What time is it?! 2:30. :O Where did my day go. I try to speed up my slow-motion (slow-motion fo me! HAHA!!) but it doesn't seem to have much effect. Either way I am getting ready. Its still raining…Why do I feel like that is a bad thing? And then I remember MY LAUNDRY! To late now, and even if it wasn't too late to go get it. I would probably be late for the bus and miss it entirely, I doubt I was actually able to get ALL the soap out of it anyways, so a little rain will be good for it. I double then triple check everything. The doctor consultant  should be $5 so I take $20 with the few bucks I have in my wallet. That should do it. I walk outside and into the store. Its raining bucks now! The bus finally gets there and in Rio Sereno its not raining anymore. We get off at the stop Mayka is leading. We go up to a house, a women answers the door. She is automatically suspicious of us. After a bit of persuading and coaxing from Mayka's part. The lady tells us, the doctor is not there. A few more minutes and she goes to try and find the doctors number, IF she in fact has it…this is his wife I take, I certainly hope she has her husbands number. If not thats somewhat sad. Anyways, Mayka calls the doctor and he is there in less then 5 minutes. I enter into his ''office'' with him And automatically I don't like it. Its very disorganized and messy and he doesn't seem to be clean enough as a human being to be a doctor. But its a 3rd world, what do I expect. Doctor Jim from Corning?! 

Anyways, I explain whats going on, tell him Im worried that it might be malaria and he just kind of stares. Focus, man! he asks some questions. Things that honestly I think make no difference. But they are medical questions so I can't argue. But seriously, I am explaining to him basically all in all, the symptoms of Malaria and he asks are you married or single? Do you have any STDs? How does that affect Malaria?! But whatevers. Single and I certainly hope not! he seems pleased enough with my answers. He gets up walks to a table gets a whole bunch of cotton, soaks it in alcohol and polishes a thermometer. He comes over to me, and sticks the thermometer in my mouth. Then asks me if my stomach hurts right that moment. I go to answer and he says "Don't move your mouth around…Would you say it hurts more or it is just uncomfortable…Don't talk! Don't move!" This dude be trippin! he takes my blood pressure, switches arms, frowns and scribbles something down. Takes out the thermometer, grunts at the number on it. Says "Your just a little warmer then usual. But you don't have a fever.'' Then he looks inside my ears, checks my tonsils a few times, looks again inside my mouth, and scribbles something else down. He pulls out 2 notepads one with a checklist printed off on it, it actually looks like a take-out menu, and the other is a prescription pad. He writes down 2 prescriptions, and rips off the slip. Then starts on a second. Writing two more prescriptions. He fills in 2 bubbles on the take out menu thingy and then stops, He thinks for a moment then gets ups and walks across the room and starts to rummage through a briefcase thats on a medical table. I hear the clinking before I see the syringe. UH-OH! He continues to rummage then stops and comes and looks through a different drawer. Pulls out a small little brown glass bottle of medicine and puts it on the table. he then opens the syringe and sucks out all the liquid with the tip of the needle. And sets it on the table. he comes back asks me to stand. pushes different places of my abdomen and ask if they hurt or not. Listens to my heartbeat on a few different places. Looks into my eyes with a flashlight and then walks behind me presses on my lower left side with two fingers and with the other two taps quite hard on a spot right underneath. He grumbles something. And sits back down. Checks off another menu option. We are now at 3. He tells me to go to the little table and lay face down. He washes his hands and flicks the syringe a few times and squeezes it until a thick looking liquid comes out. :( this is going to be painful. I almost ask if he wouldn't mind if I did my own injection but I know that would be weird. Anyways, you know how like some nurses and doctors try talking to you while they inject you so that you don't pay attention to when the needle actually goes in. Yeah…well this dude was starting off like that and then in mid sentence he paused and jammed the needle into my butt. Then started talking again. Haha, I think he kind of missed out on the concept of making small talk while giving someone an injection. In like 2 seconds he was done. But GEEZ, he did it so fast!! And now my bum hurts. After he was done. He sat back down, wrote out another prescription paper. I know have up to 3 different sheets. And fills in another bubble. I know have 4 bubbles. He tells me to go to the Pharmacy and pick these up. I ask him to tell me what exactly each one is for. He seemed irritated in having to do his job and explain what they are for. 1) Stomach Infection 2) Nausea (wow I am surprised I knew how to spell that!)  3) Dizziness 4) Vomiting 5) another one for a stomach infection and finally 6) Dehydration. Cause apparently my body is SUPER low on fluids. And he knows this by looking in my eyes and ears…right. Anyways, I start my medication tomorrow. We will see if I feel any better. Long story short…In less then an hour I have blown through a whole months expenses here and then some. In total this trip cost loverly …. $70 dollars! YEAH! …This is beyond lame. How am I supposed to stay until July 2nd if I have no money left?! I hate having to do it, but Imma have to have my mom send me some. Congratulations self you literally just blew through your future…No seriously the money I got here was a replacement for going to Harvard. And now its over, its spent…Somehow in comparison 6 months in a 3rd world country and a laptop OR a Harvard education doesn't seem all that balanced out. Does it? Whatever. My literal future security is gone. Thanks dumb self for getting sick! Good Job on your part! DUMB! AND its not even over. The doctor wants me to take 4 different expensive-sounding exams next week. One of which is a full up blood test, which sounds painful and expensive. Especially here because all of these tests will be conducted in an actual laboratory! UGH! Meaning more stress, as I try and figure out how to stay here for my whole assignment AND pay for these exams AND keep it all together. This is going to be tough people! Like serious toughness! Side note: IF these medicines being to work, I only have 1 week supply of them. Let us pray thats all I need cause I definitely could NOT take on all of THIS! But I am guessing I will have no choice but to take it all at once. Guess its a good thing I am such SUPER stubborn fighter. I wasn't raised to give up, and Im not going to start doing it now. No matter what! Anyways, I am exhausted from walking the small amount I did today. Another side note: The scale if it is in fact correct, says I lost more then 10 pounds here. But I highly doubt I have lost 10 pounds. Even though I am not eating a lot, and drinking tons of water. We will see. Imma try to get it down another 10 but we will see. Let us pray! The End.