So today was my first, and please God let it be my only!!! experience of being a patient in a Nepali hospital.
With regards to the couple of pounds I put on this year (and have lost again now!!), I remember saying on more than a few occasions, “nothing a bout of dysentery won't solve!!” as my mother would say “stupid girl!”lol
For the past 4 and a half days I've been sweating, shivering and liquidising everything that enters my body before swiftly spraying it out! (I'm happy with that description...quite foul!!)
Think the Hindu Gods are punishing me for having a little fun last Friday...the landlord of the local pub 'The Peace Zone' asked me to be guest bar lady for the night and show them how to make some good ol' fashion western cocktails!!! compromise was the name of the game, as there were so few ingredients for an artist, such as myself to work with!!! My repertoire opened with 'Dhankuta Ice Tea' which had gallons of Voddy, Gin, Tequila, coke and a Brandy called Fire ball (which came in a gimic bottle shaped like a bowling ball!!!! awesome banter). In any case as the night progressed fun was had by all, even got them all playing drinking games, they thought the 'spot game' (the one where you put the black dots on each others faces was hilarious).
In any case, think it was some dodgy ice I had that night which gave me this sickness, (but then again it could possibly be a little raw egg that the landlord put in his concoction...although I literally only took a sip of that) I am usually so careful and never have ice unless sure its safe...but hey ho, shit happens...and it certainly has been for the past 4 and a half days!!!
I have been struggling through the past few days (martyr as I am lol) and today was scheduled to go to the field and do some research with a community. It has been a really hot day, and when I awoke I felt fine but had no appetite what so ever... that defo means something is wrong if I am not hungry in the morns!
In any case, forced down some rice and drank some water and was ready to go to the field when I came over all funny, I felt like I was in a dream (I have a reoccuring dream that I am floating up and can't come down and today I felt like this). My colleague has been trying to get me to go to the hospital for days but I thought it would pass! In any case I knew that I needed it today!
After half an hours walk in the blistering heat we reached the hospital, by this time I felt rather disjointed! I paid a small consultation fee (Rs. 3) and queued to see the doc. My colleague/ mate Sumina (my saving grace in this town) waited outside and I piled into the consultation room with a load of other patients (yep there's no patient privacy...its who can push their way to his desk the fastest then the others just watch you being examined!!!mental!!!).
By the time I sat down, I was feeling in a dream, hot and flustered and worst of all vulnerable and so far from home...he checked my blood pressure and told me it was low, then my pulse and told me it was weak... “weak pulse!” I thought “that cant be good” and looked around at the severe lack of facilities and filthy walls and floors and then up at the scores of foreign faces staring down at me! He asked me to poke my tongue out to check and I just started to blub, not a big blub just a few overwhelming tears...but none the less embarrassing! I'll be honest, I felt alone and I also felt scared!!!
On an up note I was soon in fits of laughter, they asked me to do a stool sample and handed me, literally, a thimble to do it in!!! I said “How?????” and they then produced a 20cm piece of bamboo about the width of a tooth pick!!! “Oh, I see!!!” I said and looked at Sumina in complete confusion expecting some local technique to be divulged!!! She just burst into laughter and told me she had no idea!!! Its not as if I could catch it on a piece of toilet paper and cut a bit off with the stick to put in the thimble (as i once did in Taiwan...long story) its pure water at the moment! “you'll just have to use your creativity” she said through her grin!! The toilet was grotesque (and I have experienced some harsh toilets) the air potent with sick peoples piss!!! ...wont go into too many details but managed to catch a few drops and didn't use the bamboo stick!!!LOL
Then the Emergency Room for IV drip! My GOD!!!! FILTHY, RANCID room with a few beds with green blood stained sheets with white cut out letter E's stitched on them. Then a young looking boy brought a bottle of Rehydration therapy over to me and sent Sumina out to the pharmacy to buy the needles ect. (yep fresh needles, not to worry). He wasn't wearing any gloves, their sterilisation system is a jar full of small pieces of cotton wool soaked in surgical spirit, they take small pieces and rub their hands...then I begged for them to use gloves, offered some out of my med kit, eventually they used some they actually had. I asked the guy putting the drip in my arm how old he was, 15 years old, “FIFTEEN!!!” yep that's right, a volunteer at the hospital!!!
I lay on the bed for 3 hours next to a political prisoner brought from the jail with gastric problems. A Moaist arrested 5 years ago, as many of them were, accused of terrorism! On his arms home made tattoos scribbled “No Job, No Money, No Lady, No Enjoy”. Apparently they made a make shift tattoo gun in prison using the dynamo from a cassette player!
Apart from interrogating the Moaist next to me through (my interpretor) Sumina, I saw a man with the most swollen hand, and a lady kept touching my feet and chattering away and poking me!!! Was so trippy looking up at all of the intrigued faces looking down at me, including 7 police officers with big guns guarding my mate the Maoist! (Got a photo of him by the way). There were also huge spider webs just above my head and a rusty gas cylinder next to me. Minging.
Eventually, the doctor, who had seen me in the morning, came into see me and I realised how actually god damn lovely he was, about 6ft (RARE in these parts)...shame I hadn't made an effort with my face and hair this morns. I apologised for shedding a tear in front of him this morning and rolled my eyes, trying to look all cool and collected!! he said not to worry. He told me that the good news was that my blood pressure was back up and pulse stronger. Then, I said so what do I have, “Guardia” he said, “aaah I said” knowingly!!!!....pause.... “what is that?????” “Worms!!!” he said, grinned at me and said “Now I will have to de worm you”. LOL
I feel like a dog, having worms, but it is a serious problem in the developing world, and apparently the strain I have has a terrible side effect of dramatic weight loss!!!! LOVING that bit!!!!
Sorry I have waffled on, could have just kept it short...”I have worms”. But it was such a colourful day through my eyes wanted to share it!!!
So, I took the 'de-worming' tablet about 5 hours ago...and still no sign of 'wormy'...thinking of hiring a dude with a flute to see if he can charm the bugger out!
