Medical experiences 'island style'

Hi everyone!

For most of last week I was feeling really terrible, no energy, incredible muscle aches, headaches and extreme fatigue. (hence not alot of blog posts) I have had malaria before and I thought to myself.. hmmm I hope this isn't malaria. Our property manager Tony suggested that I go and get tested for malaria.

Our friends at the Sonrise Church suggested we go to Peggy's Clinic which meant being there at 7:00 to get in line, in order to sign in at 7:30 and the doctors usually showed up around 8:00 -8:30. So off we go at 7:00 to see that there is already a lineup at the clinic. This clinic is such a blessing to the island people because it is supported by Americans which means it is cheap cheap cheap and the meds are all free. The receptionist charged me 2.50 to see the doctor. I can handle that!

So let the waiting begin. At first there were about 8 of us waiting but within an hour the whole waiting room was packed with moms with babies, old ladies with white hair, young girls, and two men (including Bob!) I guess men don't get sick here...hmmmmm.....

The doctor who saw me was a volunteer from Arizona who had been on the island for 3 weeks. She looked tooooo young to be a doctor!!! (it would be like being treated by Emily.. no offense Emily!) She took one look at me and said, "you don't have malaria. you are too perky for malaria" I said, "I am always perky around people... even if I am sick, but believe me I wasn't like this at home!!" (it isn't easy being social..my body pushes through) Anyways, she didn't want to send me for the blood work. She did treat my ingrown toenail though and for that I am thankful. Then suddenly another doctor who was treating someone from behind a curtain in the same roomsays, "Listen you should test her because people in the beginning stages of malaria complain of all her symptoms." (he was honduran and knows that malaria here is like having the flu)

So good, I think let's get to the bottom of this. I am sent back to the waiting room to wait to get my meds. So far we have been waiting for about 3 hours. After about 1/2 hour they bring out this little plastic bowl with a little plastic bag inside with all your meds. I thought how cute! They gave me chloroquin (sp)(in case it's malaria) , antibiotics (for my toe) and ibrophin for the pain. The nurse just goes over all of this in front of everyone in the waiting room, and it is like everyone stops to listen. Privacy? Nah...

So off I go next to Anthony's Key to get the blood work done. No one there speaks English but fortunately they gave me a little perscription for the blood work so I am all set. I wait. Bob waits. We don't grumble. Wanna know why? Because we have learned a secret. EXPECT TO WAIT! It takes all the frustration out. Really it works. It is like being at Disney world because you just expect to wait in line right? I can't believe I just compared Roatan to Disney world. That is like saying that a liverwurst is the same as tiramisu. You get my point though.


So we wait. I decide to go and see 'how long' since I am getting hungry. I find someone who speaks English (hooray!) and he says the doctor is eating her breakfast and will be done soon. Breakfast? Now that's an idea. I am tempted to join her! But instead I say, "well couldn't the lab person do the blood work?!" He looks at me and says, "We don't have a lab person, the doctor does it all!" Oh yes, I forgot where I was... small tropical island. Yes I know where I am.

The doctor speaks no english because she is from the Mainland of Honduras. Local island people speak English. It isn't a problem though until after I give blood and walk away and she starts jabbering at me. Um??? Then she says 50 limpera. Oh I get it. I pay her. I pay the doctor. Now that is a unique concept. No paperwork! I love it. By the way, that is 2.50 for blood work.

(yes that's my blood on those slides... ewww.. I know)

Then she says una hora. I say "one hour?" si una hora. Okay one hour. That's not bad. I am the only person having any blood work done but if they want to make me wait another hour ... hey I can handle that.

We decide to go see Chuck and Tia at the Sonrise Church. We had a great visit with them (great being a loose term since my head was pounding and I am almost falling asleep while visiting) At one point Tia asked if I'd like her to pray for me. Definitely!! So she did and I kid you not but my headache went away instantly!!! WOW. Praise God.

We had coffee together (yum) and ended up staying for lunch. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and a carrot/cabbage slaw thingy. It was good.

So we head back to the clinic for the news. We wait. We watch spanish MTV which was pretty good actually. The doctor comes out from her lunch break (just kidding... I don't know what she was doing!) and hands me the infamous paper. Negativo! AHHHHHH! Negativo? Si, negativo. Bueno. She smiles. I smile.
Did you notice my new name here: Debbi Gwan

Anyways we head home happy.

Medical experience #2: my back has been out so Patti tells me her physio therapist is really good. I am a bit concerned because well he only speaks Spanish and I, as you know, only speak English. But how hard can it be for someone to just work on my back. You don't need to talk right??! So Patti comes along with Bob and I and she basically tells Jose what is wrong, how long it has been hurting etc etc. Alright. He looks at me and says Come. I go.

Then he is standing there looking at me in my shorts and tank top. He points to my shorts and says No. Points to my top and says No. I point and my bra and say Yes? He says No. I start to sweat!! And the air conditioning is on. I think okay he is a professional fellow and maybe this is the way it is down here. He hands me a towel that is too small for me. I really start to sweat.

He leaves the room. I get 'ready' with my trusty towel in hand. I lay facedown (of course!) on the bed. He walks in and says .. no no no, and points that my head needs to be on the other end. Of course... I should have known to put my head down where the cut out is!!! I am wishing I could say... okay leave the room buddy but I haven't learned that in Spanish YET! So he stands there. I managed to face the other direction without revealing anything. I am facing down. Of course!!!!

To make a long story short. Jose is a wonderful professional physiotherapist who helped me greatly. And the language barrier? Well we pushed through that. We talked the whole time! Surprise surprise eh?! :-) I found out he went to school in Nicaragua because "physio terapy no existent in honduras" He told me about his family, his wife, his little daughter who is 4 years old and has her birthday October 2nd. I said, My birthday uno de octubre. He was so thrilled!! Ahhh uno de octubre??!! He learned all about my family, the ages of our kids, and where they are living. We both discovered we live in Sandy Bay. We talked about Bob being a pastor. He told me he volunteers once a week in French Harbour.

That is a picture of French Harbour. Beautiful isn't it?


All of this was done painstakingly slowly with one or two words in either spanish or english. One thing about people here... they are as social as me. It's wonderful!!!!

Please pray that I will learn the language quickly!!!

Anyways, my back is still sore.. it is the lousy bed. We need a new bed but since we aren't sure what we are doing yet we will persevere. One thing is for sure, we need to get a place with air conditioning very soon. Not because it is too hot, (it's lovely now) but because the moisture is going to ruin our computers and my camera! Things just rust out here. It is sooo damp!! The rainy season is in full swing here. The rain affects everything! Either rust or mold!! My devotional book had mold on it, my jewelry had mold on it, a little pine bowl Bob's dad made had mold on it, my clothes smell moldy. AND I am allergic to mold. Yikes!

We are in the thick of the rainy season as you can see from the pictures below, the beach gets washed out, the hillside get washed out. It is crazy!







Sigh. Such is life on the island. But between the downpours we enjoy meeting with people and visiting new parts of the island. Today we were in Coxen Hole doing some banking and shopping and the whole experience of walking down narrow, noisy streets with tons of people just took my breath away.

I love it here!! There is an excitement amongst the people.. they are engaging with each other... laughing, talking, interacting. I just love it!! Did I mention I need to learn Spanish? Pray for us about that k?

So please keep loving those you are with. Other then loving Him nothing else matters... xo