I've had an unfortunate time lately, but things are already looking up and the worst part is over! On Tuesday, January 15th, I caved and went to the doctor as I had been sleeping at least 14 hours a day and running a temperature of more than 38 degrees Celsius (so around 101-102 Fahrenheit). The doctor looked at my swollen lymph nodes and ordered a mono test. All I can say is that I do not like needles going into me and taking out blood. I especially don't like it when they sit me in the ER in a row of chairs of people getting their blood drawn. Turns out, YES I had mono. But that was not the concern. Apparently my blood platelets were around 72 (thousand) when the normal range is 150-450. So they took my blood again to make sure it wasn't a lab error. They had wanted to admit me right there, but decided that as I was a foreigner and stressed to the extreme at this point to let me go as long as I came back in two days for more tests.
Here's where things get sketchy. The doctor gave me two prescriptions for the pain in my head and throat. She then proceeded to tell me that I can pick whichever one I want and if it didn't work then to fill the other one. These were prescription pain pills. One I looked up online [the drug names here are not familiar], it is called Nolotil and has been banned in the US in 1977. So now that I have two boxes of the stuff looks like I'm making bank when I return home.
Please note my sarcasm, as I am kidding
So I randomly picked one of the prescriptions. I decided the Nolotil one sounded pretty interesting. As they have public health care here, there is no need for insurance information. They gave me the pills no questions asked (not even my name), and then proceeded to hand me back the PRESCRIPTION. I then looked at the prescription and realized that it was not dated. Either no one abuses prescriptions drugs here, or its like the easiest thing ever.
So I returned to the hospital again on Thursday and my blood platelets were low again and the Internal Dr. told me that my spleen (Note: "el pazo") was enlarged to the point of concern. So she ordered an ultrasound for the next day and that I remain as calm and inactive as possible.
Getting an ultrasound on my stomach was an experience I was hoping to put off for a few more years, but I will say it was interesting. I'm glad that it did not tickle as I am abnormally ticklish. Before I even got the ultrasound they told me that I'd be admitted for the weekend as I was too high risk, and after the ultrasound they determined that my spleen was dangerously large.
Random ultrasound picture (Mine didn't make sense either)
So that brings me to hospital life. I was admitted Friday afternoon (Jan. 18th) and stayed until Tuesday (the 22nd) only to be readmitted. Okay, its a surreal experience to be admitted to a foreign hospital, but at least I had the nicest, private hospital room that I have ever seen. I had a translator at times, but as she was not always with me, she would always miss the nurses and oftentimes miss the doctors. I had to pick up my Spanish skills STAT. Also, as the time went on, I think my translators assumed that since I could converse in Spanish that I didn't need them....which wasn't at all true. I had to be on my game as no one spoke English, but sometimes that's hard when you're drugged up, exhausted, and in a lot of pain.
My "fancy" wheelchair
Being admitted means IV. I wasn't really a fan, but what can you do? Fortunately, my host-mom and host-sister both came to visit me, especially at first. So it was very convenient to have a host-family. And then the API directors were constantly checking on me. I can honestly say that I have never been THAT sick before. And that its never been so difficult to ask for a blanket. And that I've never had no idea what kinds of medicines were being injected into me before.
View from my hospital window
So my mother flew over the Spain, given the severity of my illness and during her stay, I was released from the hospital and returned with her to the hotel. It was nice having someone to get me ice cream. I was craving ice cream so badly. That night with my mom, I was in incredibly pain in my throat, to the point where I couldn't possibly sleep, even with the pain pills. So I returned first thing in the morning to the hospital and they took me to the ENT who said I should have never been released if I was still in such pain, and he determined that I had a secondary infection in my throat causing the pain in my already swollen-from-mono throat. To determine this, they put me into a giant MRI machine. Being an American, the technician wanted to try and practice his English, but I would have actually preferred him use Spanish as I wanted to know exactly what was going on. So when he told me "We're going to inject you with some medicine and its going to make you feel hot," I took that as he was trying to express pain. Turns out, my lymph nodes legitimately were burning, like with a hot temperature. It was a bizarre sensation. A few days later, after being treated for that, I was finally feeling well and was able to go back to my apartment with Ana.
MRI machine
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