Funny-not-so-funny-story-time!! As many of you know I suffer
from CVS, and during childhood I was so sick that I went through failure to
thrive and my immune system was tremendously compromised. Because of this I am
a magnet for viruses! And while I eat healthy, exercise, and use hand sanitizer
constantly to try and stay well, there are times that that is not going to
work. SO here is the installment of “Anna got really ill in Bulgaria and had to
go to hospital.”
I woke up Wednesday which is my research day with a post
nasal drip that was hurting my throat, I figured it was allergies so I took
meds and eventually took a nap to try and feel better. When I woke up I learned
just how wrong I had been. I was incredibly ill, throwing up constantly, unable
to focus, and everything I ate wouldn’t stay down. I tried juice, cereal,
crackers, etc. Nothing worked. I finally caved and decided that I needed to
call my mentor teacher. I told her that I had been vomiting for hours and was
very ill and I thought I needed to go to the hospital. To which she responded:
“I have to think on this, I’ll call you back later.”
This is when I panicked dear readers. PANICKED. I remembered
my friend Becs, issues when she got sick and her mentor teacher said that she
would call to take her to the doctor but then turned her phone off and could
not be reached. And all I could think was: I am going to die in Bulgaria. In my
communist style flat, on the 13th floor, I am going to die. This is it. I had so many escape plans,
to get to a hospital if I needed but now I was just too sick to do them. And I
realized I SURVIVED KOSOVO, CUBA, and MEXICO for this? Screw you Bulgaria I am
going to live! (All you fellow brown coats will understand that I immediately
felt like Kaylee from Serenity when she is in the epic final battle and screams
she is going to live.)
I crawled back into bed and started my plan C, I alternated
water every ten minutes with crackers, and took my socks off to cool my body
down. This is when I missed being at home and sick. When your mom takes you to the doctor and brings you yummy foods, and you watch TV without having to care about anything besides how yucky you feel. ugh...homesickness on top of other sickness=not fair! I called my mom to tell her what was going on, and looked up the closest
hospital and right as I was getting shoes on to try and get there my mentor
teacher called back! I told you I loved her!
Turns out that what she meant by “Ill have to think about
this” was “I have to call all my Doctor friends and find someone to see you.”
She got me into a hospital downtown to be seen, and came in a taxi to pick me
up. When she saw me the first thing she said was “Why didn’t you call earlier?
You look horrible!” And I didn’t know how to say “I am used to being sick, I
thought I was fine, turns out I was very wrong.”
The doctor took one look at me and had me lay down, after
describing my symptoms to my mentor teacher she translated to the doctor who
told me that I have a virus that is sweeping through Bulgaria. It is a
Bulgarian virus, not found in America and thus I had no immunities to try and
protect me from getting it. That everything I had done to treat my being ill
actually aggravated it! So she gave me four different medications and said to
go home and rest.
This is where you think it gets better right? That the meds
work and I’m suddenly back to my sarcastic, crazy, self? Yeah, I am sorry dear
readers but that is not what happens. I not only had a virus but the virus
weekend my immunities to allow me to get a cold as well. (Now all you nurses
out there are saying “A cold is a virus” and yeah I get that, but for the sake
of not confusing people I am saying cold, and virus!) So I get a cold, which I
can’t treat, because the juices, foods, and medications that you use to treat a
cold aggravate the virus more. Therefore I cant treat the cold until I am rid
of the virus. Cure the virus and I’m good right? Wrong, I am allergic to the
main medication that forces the virus to leave my body. Basically, I can’t get
rid of the virus quickly because I can’t take the medication that does that,
and I can’t treat the cold until the virus has left my body. Which all leaves
me in a horrible mess of constant vomiting, sore throat, inability to breathe,
and lack of consciousness for days.
But all hope was not lost, my students and colleagues came
to the rescue! First off my landlord insisted on coming in to take out the
mosquito nets even though I told him I was contagious and he just stared at me
and asked me if I thought I would die. I turned over saying yes, but just in
case don’t rent the flat right away. Then my mentor teacher called me to ask if
I was taking my medications and my Vice Principle called to tell me I was
missed and that everyone hopes I will be better soon. Then my students reached
out and asked if they could visit me to bring me food and make sure I was ok.
They were wonderful constantly messaging me and seeing how I was doing, asking
if I needed anything and bringing me food so that I did not have to leave my
apartment.
All of my students who had doctor parents asked them what
would help me get better and then they made it for me. It was like some form of
apple sauce, and immediately my stomach began to settle down!Between my
students constant checking on me, and my landlord taking my trash out, and just
know that there were people around if I needed them I stopped stressing so much
about being sick and began to just let myself get better.
Of course I was still panicked about missing class since my
eleventh grader are supposed to have a test on “Sleepy Hollow” this week and
without having class last week we didn’t get to review. But when I tried to
tell my mentor teacher why I was so concerned about it she told me, “Your job
is not a rabbit it will not run away so quickly, your health comes first, take
care of you.”
So here I am trying to get better after days of being ill,
and still trying not to worry about my students and how much I need to make sure
they know before I leave them in June, and yet it got a little bit better. Yes
I got sick in Bulgaria, and yes during that they informed me that Hep A was
found in the water in Gabrovo, which while it is far off is still frightening.
But in the end, I made it. I thought it would be a lot harder than it is,
living alone. But it is pretty easy. The hardest part so far is being sick
while living alone, on the 13thfloor where it takes a lot to even
exit my building when well, never mind sick.
But I did it! Though my friends and I joked about how the
odds were in my favor that I would see a Bulgarian hospital eventually, I can
say I lived to tell the tale ;) And I was able to get closer to my students
because of it!In the end I was able to skype my kitten and try to feel like I was at home getting better, but being here is still where I want to be!
A.
No comments:
Post a Comment