Hospital...

Yesterday evening Ice came to me saying that her stomach had been hurting since the day before. I figured that maybe she had amoeba (she's had it before) and as I didn't have the meds for that I just gave her some travel meds in the hopes that they might help her feel better. Today she didn't come in to work so I figured she must be in some pain. As I was busy with the kids I didn't go see her. At 5:30 her husband came and told me that she was experiencing a lot of pain in her midsection, especially the right side. I started feeling somewhat concerned but he said that she didn't have a fever or diarrhea or constipation. I called a nurse and she said that it would be best not to give amoeba meds but to have a doctor look at her. I told this to her husband and told him to come back if they needed a ride to the hospital. I got dinner ready for the fam and I ate some myself (thankfully). I had this niggling feeling that I needed to go see Ice myself. So I got out my flashlight and hand phone (in the event of a problem...) and made my way over to her place. It was about 6:15 at the time and it was very dark already. I went into her house and she came out of her bedroom and I think she thought I was mad at her for not working but I told her to lay down so that I could check her abdomen. I poked a bit and she told me it was very painful and I also observed that she had a fever. I made an immediate decision to bring her to the hospital. So we went, her husband, his twin brother and Ice's little brother all coming along. We went to the emergency room which is a largish room with lovely green satin curtains between each two equally lovely green stretchers. None of said curtains was closed though. There were women curled up sleeping; there were babies with IV's strapped to their little wrists; and family members sleeping on the floor beside the beds. We were instantly given a little piece of paper and told to go to the lab. I was a little confused and asked the doctor as he finished looking at a guy getting his head sewed back together following a motorcycle accident. He told me to go to the lab and they would check Ice's blood for her leukocyte and iron levels. So off we all went. The nice thing about going there at night is that it is quite quiet and you don't have to wait too long. Well, Ice's leukocytes were 16,000 and her iron was 8.8. Those of you medically inclined will know that those are not good numbers. We made our way back to the Emerg where they did an appendicitis check (inconclusive) and we were immediately taken to the radiology room. This time they pushed Ice in a wheelchair. Thankfully, the poor girl was in so much pain. This hospital is quite the place. It is government run. There are lots of nice tools like a mammography machine, panoramic x-ray machine, a well-equipped lab, 2 ultrasound machines - one 3D, the other 4D, and a digital x-ray machine. The only problem is that there aren't that many people who know how to use these wonderful tools. There are no computers in sight as well. Everything is written out on pieces of paper. It's hard to describe, except to say that it is a spartan place. Anyways, after I paid $10 for the x-ray and $10 for the ultrasound, Ice had her x-ray and then the doctor came and did an ultrasound. She has an enlarged spleen (could be just from many bouts of malaria), a womb full of pus, some issue with a part of her intestines and they couldn't get a good look at her appendix cause there was something in the way... Yikes! So back to the ER we went. There they put her on an IV and sent me off to get meds. Which I did after paying first again. Then I brought them back to the ER and gave the IV ones to the doctor (a Papu*n guy). The other meds they explained to me. Then I explained them to Ice and her husband.... Anyways, they got her going on some antibiotics after doing a little allergy test first. Because of the lack of curtains, all the goings on are observed by everyone. Finally they confirmed that there was a bed available for her. So off we went. Outside all the patient areas are family members sleeping. Apparently only one person is allowed to stay inside with each patient. Once we got Ice settled in, she was so zonked out by then, I left for home with her brother and the twin of her husband. The twin was instructed to get clothes, blankets/pillows (not provided), and drinking water (also not provided) and food for the hubby. His plan was to come back right away with a friends motorbike.
So this whole process took about 5 hours.... Good thing I ate some supper first....
Please pray for Ice that she may recieve the care she needs and get healthy again.