Going to the doctor

Well folks, I didn’t get to go to the beach. Ironically enough, the morning after I published my last blog I woke up with a stabbing pain in my lower back (which actually turned out to be my lung). Every time I coughed, the pain got worse. So instead of packing my swimsuit and towel for some much needed sunbathing, I went to the doctor for some much needed medical attention.

I was taken to a private clinic and seen almost immediately. The doctor explained that my lungs were super irritated and full of phlegm, so I had to have nebulizer treatment as well as an IV of medicine to aid in the lung recuperation. In all honesty, I felt like I had finally hit rock bottom. I was sitting in a foreign doctor’s office, hooked up to a Darth Vador-like mask that was pumping medicine into my infected lungs, while at the same time getting hooked up to an IV (I just love needles, btw), and I wanted nothing more than to take a sleeping pill that would make me sleep until all the horribleness was over.

In the midst of all my misery though, God showed up again. Like I said last time, God’s got everything under control, regardless of whether we believe it or not. I was blessed with not only an amazing doctor but an amazing nurse as well. Both of them were thorough in their assessments, yet super gentle and understanding of my apprehensions. I literally did not feel a thing when I got the IV, and by the time I left, my blood-oxygen levels were back up and I could breath normally.

Since last Friday (Oct. 1^st), I have been faithfully taking my pills and drinking my cough syrup twice a day without complaint. I thought I was out of the woods until Monday night (Oct. 4^th), my one month anniversary of being in Costa Rica. Instead of having a party to celebrate, I had to go back to the doctor because I was having chest pains and really all-over-my-torso-pains. My lungs had become unhappy once more, and so we went back to the clinic for the 4^th time in 4 days. (They recognize my face now when I go in.)

Lucky for me, this visit was a bit different than my past visits. This time, I was accompanied by one of my professors as well as one of the 24-7s. We got there and the front desk guy said we would have to wait until 9:30PM to see the doctor because he was so busy. It was about 8:00PM at that time. About half an hour later, the doctor called us back. Well, lucky me I got the best looking doctor in Costa Rica. He had the pointiest shoes I’ve ever seen a man wear…or a woman for that matter. This guy should have been on Grey’s Anatomy.

Anyway, he talked with us for a while, then decided to check me over. At one point, he actually hopped up onto the examining table next to me to get at a better angle to check my breathing. I was laughing inside…I’d never seen a doctor hop up on the table before. He explained the need for more nebulization and of course another injection. So, I got another injection, and then it was time to get nebulized. I got out my mask they had given me the time before and he hooked me up. We all thought it would be a good time to take some pictures, so we did. We got ones with me in the mask, with the 24-7 and me, of the doctor and me….really quite ridiculous.

When all was said and done, we got the pics, we finished the 3 nebulizations and then we headed home. That night after I got home, my host mom expressed how worried she was for me. We talked a lot about different food she is going to cook for me to “rally my defenses”. Also, she and I talked about the importance of having a positive attitude through all of this. She reminded me that I have so many people who care and that I am never alone. God just blows my socks off again and again. I am indeed a blessed woman with an amazing family! I am officially on the mend, and looking forward to my final doctor visit this Friday! Thanks for the continued prayers devoted reader!

Until next time…

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