Last night I woke up in the middle of the night with a really sore throat. After that I didn't sleep well. It was hurting a lot.
This morning I was trying to decide what to do. Of course the Honduran solution at the first sign of a cough or any ache is to take an antibiotic. But I was raised differently.
I took a flashlight over to Fany's house and asked her to look into my throat. She said she saw pus, just like she saw in Laura's throat two weeks ago when Laura spiked a fever and was sick for a few days.
I was thinking about the peace march tomorrow and the dance class I'm supposed to attend on Saturday in preparation for my grand violin performance the following week. I really don't have any time to rest or go to the doctor until next Tuesday.
Fany reminded me that the people in my literacy class don't have the greatest defense systems due to malnutrition and general poverty. She said it might be best if I didn't go to class today. I was thinking of the second part of the exam which they are supposed to take today. It would be best for them not to wait an extra week with no class before their exam.
I called a coworker. She said a firm no. It's been raining every evening and she didn't want me out in the rain with a sore throat. She said to call and advise the class, then cancel our transportation. So I did, but I was not pleased about it.
I called the health clinic. They said they could see me in an hour, so I headed out to the doctor. I figured if I did need an antibiotic, I should get started on it right away. Then I might feel better in time for the peace march tomorrow.
The same doctor who saw me for Chikungunya was the one who treated me today. He speaks perfect English. I told him that I normally would never come to the doctor during the first few hours of a sore throat, but I have a busy weekend ahead and I wanted to get a jump on the sore throat.
He looked in my ears and down my throat and told me he couldn't see anything at all. (So much for Fany's pus.) I felt foolish but my throat was killing me. He listened to my lungs. No surprise, nothing there. Then he had my lie down and pushed on a spot above my belly button. OUCH!!! I asked why it hurt so much, wondering what I had eaten to cause so much damage to my belly. He said that is where your body fights off a virus. I should have remembered that from when I had Chikungunya.
He told sent me for bloodwork and told me he would see me in an hour.
While I was waiting for the bloodwork I got a phone call from another missionary. She serves in Los Pinos. She said she just came out of Los Pinos and it was worse than she has ever seen it. She said there were 10 gang members with AK 47's on every corner. They were mad, she said, because people from Villa Nueva, which is the front side of the mountain with all of the houses where I climb up to Las Minitas, killed two gang members from Los Pinos yesterday. So today every gang member in Los Pinos is headed to Villa Nueva for revenge.
My friend remembered I had class today and wanted to warn me.
I've never been so happy to be in a doctor's office in my life! Finally it all made sense. While I was feeling guilty for canceling class, the sore throat and the strange notion that I should have it looked at right away by a doctor was all God's plan to keep me out of the middle of a gang war!
I immediately called my coworkers and the head of transportation to tell them to stay out of that area. They were grateful for the heads up.
Then the doctor called me in to give me the results of my bloodwork. He said, "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"
I told him I didn't believe there was any bad news so I'd take whichever. He said I don't have dengue fever, which I had never considered before, but I do have a virus, just as I thought. He gave me a prescription for suero, which is a thing they do here. It's like high test gatorade or something. And he told me to take 1000 mg of acetaminophen every 6 hours. I will not be doing that. That's too much. I'll take half as needed.
I told him about the phone call, and that I finally understood why I had come to the clinic. I had waited nine days with Chikungunya before I sought medical attention. It was truly strange that I would go to the doctor for a sore throat that appeared only hours before.
He said, "So I saved your life today then!" We laughed.
Then he told me that he opened the health clinic in Los Pinos. He delivered the first baby ever delivered there! He said he loved sitting on top of those mountains early in the morning before the fog lifted. It was beautiful, he said. We bonded over our common love for Los Pinos. He turned on the radio as we talked and searched for a song. He stopped when he found "Take it Easy" by the Eagles. I thanked him for his help and as I headed out the door he said, "Be safe. And take it easy!"
It will be interesting to hear what happened between the young men of Los Pinos and those of Villa Nueva. I am just grateful that God kept my coworkers, my class members and me out of the the middle of it.
