Rough Week

I expected this week to be emotionally difficult. There was the last day of school, saying goodbye to my students, packing up my apartment, and inevitably counting down the days until I leave. However, none of those things were on my mind this week.

Instead of being emotionally distraught, I found myself sicker than I've been in a very, very long time. Monday after school I felt achy and my throat hurt. I thought I was probably getting sick. I'll spare you all the details, but here's the gist of it. I had a fever. I started having diarrhea. I laid in bed all day and didn't eat because I didn't want more diarrhea. I scared Willem, Johane, and Arold because I was weak and sick. They made me move to Johane's extra bedroom so someone could watch me all night. They forced me to eat. I went to the doctor the next day. I had to take a stool sample to the lab and also get a blood test and a urine test. Now, I'm taking my meds and starting to feel better.

It appears that I have two different issues... some type of gastrointestinal parasite and an infection of some sort (hence the red, sore throat). I'm taking an antibiotic for the throat/infection thing, and I have this drug called Tinidral that I love. It made my stomach stop churning. I would like to carry some in my pocket for a good long time "just in case." The all Spanish packaging says it treats things like (don't click these links if you have a weak stomach; you won't get the disease, but you'll probably want to puke) trichinosis, giardia, intestinal amoebiasis, vaginitis, colon infections, and general gynecological infections. So any problem I may have below the waist should be taken care of.

It was a really rough week, but God blessed me with just the right support system. Arold came to visit every day, taking such good care of me. I wasn't very thankful while he was forcing me to eat crackers, but I'm so grateful he wasn't phased by my avoidance tactics. Johane allowed me to stay in her extra bedroom, contaminating her house with my at that point unidentified germs. She drove me to the doctor, and the next day she took me into the city for my lab tests. Willem was thinking ahead and had an "evacuate Britney" plan ready to go if I needed to get back to the States. He also went and scoured the clinic for the medicines I needed.

Even though it's been a rough week, I'm really thankful. I can't tell you how devoted and sweet Arold was with me this week. That man surpasses all my hopes for a husband. He is a true gift from God. Johane and Willem checked on me often and coordinated my trips to the doctor and lab. They continue to check in with me, even though I'm not so sick anymore. My church family was praying for me, and several of them sent encouraging words to me.