This morning I woke up feeling better, but knowing I would still have to see a Dr. I was full of burps with sharp pains in my stomach and NO appetite. I called my neighbor/landlord Hermida and asked her if I should see a specialist, or if this was something my regular Dr could handle on Monday.
First she scolded me, saying I should have called her yesterday and why did I wait so long. Then she called a specialist. Her husband ran to the store and came back with soup and Gatorade. She apologized that she could not stay home and take care of me. But really, I prefer to be alone when I alone when I am sick.
The specialist came within an hour. He did a full check up and told me that I wasn't drinking enough water, which was definitely true. He asked to look at my tongue, which I knew was black since I had been taking PeptoBismol all day yesterday and hadn't thought to brush my teeth until that moment. I explained about the PeptoBismol and he said, "That is good. You North Americans are good about always taking PeptoBismol." I thought that was pretty funny. And accurate.
I had to explain to him that yes, I knew there was mucous but no blood in my stool because on several occasions yesterday I had not made it the 10 feet to my toilet so my underpants held the evidence.
He gave me something natural to clean out my intestines? or colon? or wherever the little infectious creatures are living inside of me. And he gave me the same exact antibiotic I had read on the internet was the best, which was reassuring. Plus something for nausea. He told me not to eat any dairy or anything greasy. No worries. The idea alone almost made me gag.
Hermida has her brother and sister-in-law on stand by. She called them right after she called the Doctor. Since she has church obligations she asked them to come over this afternoon to look in on me. She thinks they are making soup for me.
Really, I am much better than yesterday. I just need to get rid of these uninvited guests in my belly.
How funny that I spent two years in Honduras with no stomach problems. Then one week in Guatemala hit me hard. Strange. Good thing I really loved that place.
Note to self: Stop watching Discovery Channel's show about parasites. It is making my imagination run wild.
