A Hospital Visit

It has been a while since my last update, evidence of how busy life has become for me. These past few weeks I have tried new foods, met new friends and of course learned new words in Thai. As of now I have lived in Thailand for three months and the verdict…I am still in love with Thailand! I can’t wait to get up each morning just to see what adventure the new day will bring. Although it seems that since I arrived I have been sick more than I have been well, I know it is all a part of my body adjusting to this new place.

So, I guess the biggest news this month has been about me being admitted into the hospital for a couple days with a staph infection. I never thought my obsession for running would put me in the hospital, but this time it did. Here’s the story. I went running Monday morning and strangely my shoe, was rubbing on the back of my heal which was never a problem before. So rather than stop and get a band-aid, I did what any one else would do, I just ran through the pain. By the time I finished my run, my heel was pretty sore and a little bloody, but nothing a bit of peroxide wouldn’t fix. So, I showered, put on flip flops and was off for my day. Tuesday morning was the same routine only it hurt a whole lot more. I hobbled around all morning but didn’t think much of it. By noon on Tuesday, I told the lady I was working with that I didn’t feel quite right, that I felt dizzy and was not sure wrong. She suggested that I should go lay down, which I did. About an hour later when she came to check on me, I could hardly move and was running a high fever. All I wanted was to go home and go to bed, so I had someone drive me home. By Tuesday night, the swelling on my foot had greatly increased and was much more infected. I tended to the wound with peroxide and a band- aid, but still wasn’t convinced that was the cause of the nausea and fever. After a long night, finally morning came and I was so sick that I could hardly go up and down the stairs. I showed my foot to my roommates and we all agreed that I need to go to the doctor. They called one of our “mom’s” here, Mrs. G., to come and get me. When she looked at my foot, her reaction was less than encouraging and she rushed me to the hospital. After the doctor had poked at my foot for a while he told me, “Take these pills and get some rest.” Since both my roommates were at work, Mrs. P had me stay and rest at here house that afternoon. After a two hour nap, I managed to walk down her stairs and pale and frail said, “Mrs. P, I think it is worse.” With one look at my foot, which was now taking on a purplish tone, she said, “Oh honey, it is!” She rushed me over to the office of a Doctor with our company. He looked at my foot and was very concerned, he called another doctor with our company and they decided that I would meet him, Doctor G, in the ER in 30 minutes.

My hospital uniform

This is where the story gets interesting and if you have a weak stomach, you may not want to continue reading. Mrs. P said she would drop me off at the ER door and go park then meet up with me. As I walked up to the ER, I noticed the waiting room was outside in the heat and humidity. Amongst the people waiting their turn was a little dog napping at their feet. Since I didn’t really understand the procedure, I decided to hobble right in to the ER. As soon as I did, they brought a bed over told me to lay on it, which I did. When I realized they were going to wheel me to the back, I sat up and said, “I need to see doctor G!” Thinking I was speaking of one of their doctors, they answered, “Yes, doctor Grace.” I said, “No, no, wait, I want to see Doctor G!” They continued to wheel me down the hall and parked me in the back where I was surrounded by probably eight Thai doctors and nurses. I was thinking to myself, “Great they are going to cut off my foot here and now without Mrs. P. or Doctor G. Finally Doctor G walked around the corner, looked at my foot, had a surgeon look at it and decided to cut and drain the infection. With a quivering lip I said, “Ok,” while I looked around for comfort from Mrs. P, who was still nowhere to be seen. She phoned me and asked how to get where I was and because I couldn’t really explain, she asked if I could come out front and meet her. Since my foot was in the process of being sterilized by five Thai nurses, I couldn’t really see a way out. Mrs. P finally found her way to me and stood by my side holding my hand. They prepared all their tools, wheeled over a huge metal tray with a grate on the top that looked similar to a grill, and placed my foot on it. I was thinking to myself,”How much are they planning on draining from me, because that thing is pretty big?” I grabbed Mrs. P’s hand as I saw them pull out a 6” curved needle. They stuck the needle directly in the infection and without waiting for the numbness to kick in, immediately started cutting my foot, and pushing out the infection. The pain was so intense I was unable to let out a scream or even move. I gripped onto Mrs. P’s hand with my teeth clinched and my body shaking. If given the opportunity to think about what they were going to do to me, I probably would have run right out of that ER, but this all happed within 20 minutes of me walking in the door. Finally they brought me up to my room where I would be on IV antibiotics and fluids for 2 days.

Brooke thought she wanted to look

I am so thankful to Mrs. P. Even though she almost passed-out herself, she never left my side that entire day. My roommates met up with me that afternoon and bless their hearts, stayed with me in the hospital all night, both sleeping on the world’s smallest bed. I am not sure how they did it, but I am so glad they did because I really needed them there. This has been an event to remember, I earned a reputation with the nurses there for being fearful of needles. But all in all my Thailand hospital experience was a good one I give them two thumbs up. Now the hard part begins…taking a break from running long enough for my foot to heal.

Tip for the week: Things grow rapidly in a warm humid climate, that’s just the way it is.

View from my hospital window. My roommates are great!