You Say ya Want a Revolution...

hi kids and baby goats,

I hope all State Side is sunny up. I’ve heard it might be cold there, REALLY cold, so I also hope everyone is drinking their Cocoa with Marsh mellows. But not the mini-marsh ones because if you live in MN those don’t count. Right now I am drinking some re hydration salts so we’re even in the substances ya don’t really want to be drinking game.

So a minute ago while awaking and elevating myself from my bed, I had all the brilliant intentions to blog my latest revelations, revolutions and rotations. Now that I’m sitting up and facing the computer I’m feeling a bit more flushed and suckered of energy/spirit than expected soooo here be the short and sweet:

Revelation: When it rains, it POURS. Or atleast if I remember correctly I think it’s been a pretty heavy cats and dogs since yesterday at 5 pm. And yes, I write literally of falling rain. I woke up asking myself the question (in Spanish) "on what ocean am I floating?" This might be a bad sign in a landlocked country butttt hopefully the jungle roots and mango growth will soak it all up. Oh yeah and there was totally a lightning and thunder loud and bright enough to have possibly have hit my bed. Be glad I’m not a horse cause I was spooked.

Revolution: OK, sooo my week out at Palacios jungle clinic was a bit rough. I have survived or am in processing of surviving, so no worries on the thinking about worrying. i´m getting over a lil sick stuff, a lil delirium, a lil sweating it out then shivering it away. more details later. i think i´m up the up and up. i had currently forgot the reading of a normal body temperature.. but i think today i´m gonna remember. As of last eve i´m back in city and coming back to reality.

The fun details basically went down like this:
Wed: A good day. Fun not rough. 9am- We arrive almost to jungle where workers have created an open canal about 3 Km before reaching the clinic. I park our auto behind the 2 patient Mini-buses and we begin the trek by foot. Patients are pretty into their free Gringo care so they are willing to hike out… hypertensive, enfartic, one-legged, an all. The gringo docs loved this… walking down a jungle road with groceries and stethoscopes in hand. That’s what we at the Foundation like to call Creating Memories☺ (aka I just made that up). Anywhoo I made half the trek and of course was into it but then of course cuz I’m coordinator and have additional (can be replaced by ALL) responsibilities I got to join Miguel in the horse drawn buggy to do cooler things. I think we may have moved at a slower pace though because 1. The horses are skinny and 2. Damnnnn it’s hot here. 3. Miguel told me it was because Number 1 (the horses are named #1 and #2) is lazy. I didn’t believe him. Anyways his 1 yr old son Miguelito is now my buddy, so the trip was a success.

Anyways so that was fun times.. I got a little sun burn and then put some DEET bug repellent on and then my skin acted like a crazy reactionary… butt just a little burning sensation and a lil extra red and a few docs monitoring me with some trace lines and all was swell.

Thursday morn to Sat afternoon: I guess the sprinted mile of the story would be: Raquel now has a ficha (chart) at the clinic. It was not half bad times. The American docs were incredibly attentive and careful and the Bolivian docs wanted to admit me to hospitals and stick things in my arms and give me lots of drugs (luckily we didn’t let them do that). I was kind of out of it most of the time but in retrospect it’s a good study in what’s what with the med care.

We don’t really know what happened but basically I had a very high elevated temperature, a pressurized headache, the hot colds, the sweats and shakes, the your in a sick state blood pressure and pulse...all the elements for a red faced, bleary eyed and headed me. As we all know it’s rough to be sick, and sometimes a lil more rough to be sick in the jungle.. but my peeps were good and stayed strong right along with me.

My blood tests were normal so we don’t think it was any of the Big Names in tropical diseases. Yesterday I inherited an added stomach bother which we are now blindly treating. Although it’s not really helping me build strength my temp is down and controlled this is GOOD, I’m force feeding liquids also GOOD, and I’m on Mandarin Fushia terrorist alert level should anything begin to go down hill again.

So, yes when I say I’m fine, I’m living enough to say it. Tranquilo, no mas.

Dangit in all that I didn’t get to my great Revolution story.

Round Two Revolution: I can’t remember what night but who knew delirium could be so awfully satisfactory? Basically I was feeling like my world must be ending and this pressure in my head must need to explode at some point. I left my 4 bunk bed room at 2 am to recline on some wicker furniture for a change of scenery. As I approached the wicker furn with my crazy temp and crazy head pressure I decided that I must start the Revolution. In retrospect, the Revolution was to be a mix of social and medical revolt. I was on this course of revolution-starting for three hours. At 5 am my entire body was suddenly covered in lakes of sweat and during some intense shaking I noticed my head pressure was gone. I couldn’t have been a happier cookie. I knew the Revolution had come. Later I couldn’t have been a colder cookie for the lakes cooled off very quickly.. but still interesting times.

I told this story to the docs in the morning and they immediately had me in consult. So yes I was very sick but mannnn besides the whole jungle thing, what a better place to be cared for?

Rotation: Of course I kinda had to work throughout all of this sweat, shiv, and delirium. Today I’m resting up more or less with a few tid bits here and there. I wanna go to a soccer game and if rains subside this will make me feel better. Yesterday in the middle of a night I got a call from a patient with a posib. dying old mother. I felt bad that I couldn’t jump out of bed to help her but I’m also starting to think there’s gotta be some limit to the craziness. I can be strong, but I gotta have the reserve to do it… yes yes?

Kiss, hug. Until the next jump:)