Dehydration is no joke...
Hi! I
hope everyone had a great week. Mine
left more to be desired. Last Monday
night I ate a couple of pupusas from a street vendor that had bad chicken in
them. I couldn’t sleep that night
because of painful cramps and the next day I was plagued with sickness. I drank as much rehydration salts as
possible, but I knew there was no way I was drinking what I was losing. By mid-afternoon I was so weak, dizzy and
dehydrated that I couldn’t walk. I had
to crawl on my hands and knees from the outhouse to the house, and even then I
was on the verge of passing out. I knew
I needed help and I was very scared that I would not make it through the
night. Luckily, Wendy was there and she
helped lower my temperature (I was running a high fever) with wet towels that
she put on my head and neck. Juana and
Simon arrived shortly after. I kept
repeating that I needed to get to a clinic or hospital and that I needed an IV,
but there was no way I could walk there.
Juana started making calls, and a couple of hours later I was on my way
to Sensunte, the closest town with a hospital.
Pastor and Juana went with me.
I was kept in the hospital for two days and two
nights while I rehydrated and slowly got rid of my diarrhea. I slept almost two days straight because my
body was so exhausted from fighting the amoebas in my gut, as well as my
fever.
Except for my appetite and energy, I am fully
recovered and am feeling great! I’m so
grateful to be surrounded by such hospitable and gracious people who will help
me at a moment’s notice. It makes me
appreciate the importance of community and having a foundation of people to
support you. I don’t know what I would
have done if I was alone in a country where I didn’t know anyone.
Tomorrow, Wendy is taking me to San Salvador to
visit the sepulcher of Oscar Romero! Then
I head to the gardens with the youth….
This is a cow.
