Being Sick Abroad

It goes without saying that it is being sick is no fun, but let me assure you, being sick halfway around the world is about a million times worse.

For over a week now, I have been dealing with an upset stomach. At first, I chalked it up to my normal stomach peculiarities, but as time went on, more and more foods were being added to the "can't eat" list, until only pudding, graham crackers and apples were left. Then on Friday I started getting really lightheaded. Not my normal, "I'm dizzy, I need to sit down" lightheadedness but seeing white, ears ringing about to pass out lightheadedness. Between Friday and Saturday, I think I was awake a total of 8-9 hours each day.

Today, for some bizarre reason, I was absolutely determined to go to class (which was pointless, since I couldn't concentrate and just walking to campus completely wore me out). But my friend Kristin, the wonderful woman that she is, agreed to accompany me to the doctor's, which meant I needed to figure out our international health insurance. So I called the number on the insurance card, and I got this lady who was less than helpful. She wanted to know where I lived, so I told her Hebrew University Mt Scopus campus, or French Hill. She kept asking what neighborhood and I kept telling her French Hill, and she was like, "I can't help you if you don't know the neighborhood." French Hill IS the neighborhood! Luckily, the call dropped and when I called back, I reached a much more polite, much more helpful woman, who gave me the numbers and addresses of the two walk-in 24 hour clinics in Jerusalem. So Kristin and I caught the bus to the closer of the two.

I didn't have to wait very long, but my doctor didn't really know English, which was fun. But I was able to make him understand my symptoms. The official diagnosis was acute gastroenteritis, and he decided that I needed an IV (with a drug of nausea and something else), which was lots of fun because I have horrible veins. The nurse tried a vein in my left hand first, and my vein collapsed so that was painful. Then I remembered that I have a decent (for me) vein on the side of my right hand, so that's what he ended up using. In the middle of the treatment, I managed to accidentally knock the IV loose, so the meds were squirting everywhere and blood was squirting everywhere, and the nurse was like, "I told you to be careful!" And I barely moved! But in the end, it all worked out and I left the clinic with bandages on both of my wrists - to which my Italian roommate said, "it looks like you don't like life!"

I am feeling a little better already and will hopefully continue to improve. Perhaps there will be hummus and falafel again in my future!