Trip to the ER...

Over the weekend, Al and Rajiv left our schedule wide open but had arranged for 2 full days of sightseeing in nearby cities for those of us that were interested. I had decided that I would go on one of the two trips and catch up on some much needed sleep on Sunday. Saturday morning, the majority of us headed off to Belur Halebeedu to visit 3 separate temples, one of which is still active. Quite honestly, I’ve had my fill of temples at this point. If you are really interested in what they look like or which god/goddess each one is dedicated to, I’m sure one of my classmates has posted something about our excursions this weekend. As for me, I won’t be visiting another temple anytime in the immediate or distant future…or at least until I can visit one without having to walk around in my bare feet.

I decided that I would go and try to finish up on some last minute souvenir shopping on Sunday afternoon. If you’re reading this blog, chances are good that I will have something for you when I return to the United States. I won’t spoil it here so I’ll leave you in suspense. That way, most of you will actually be excited to see me when I get back home…

Of course, my weekend could not have ended without some sort of excitement in my life. That would be way too ordinary and boring. Very early Monday morning, I had the pleasure of visiting the emergency room of the local Mysore hospital. And no, it was not one of our planned tours…

Here is a chronological list of events as I remember them:

-Saturday night, 11:30pm. Had an unfortunate incident with a 150cc moped while returning home from The Road. I won’t get into details, but let’s just say I left a fair share of my palms on the road/dirt/pavement in Mysore.

-Sunday morning, 11:00am. 3rd round of tweezing/cleaning various rocks and debris embedded in my hands in Gene’s room. Lucky for me, Gene had a good supply of antibacterial soap, ointment, and band-aids.

-Sunday afternoon sometime. Most of my classmates return home from their Sunday sight-seeing tour. As Mary (whose husband happens to be a family doctor in Duluth) looks at my wounds, she says they look great and jokingly states that I shouldn’t worry unless, “red streaks start shooting up your arms.”

-Sunday night, 11:00pm. I give Mary a call in her room. I show her the “red streaks shooting up my arms.”

-Sunday night, 11:45pm. Because I am a complete genius and a trained professional, I decide that it would be great to give myself a self-diagnosis on WebMD to see what I should do.

-Sunday night, 11:55pm. After a thorough self-diagnosis, I have determined that not only am I in the beginning stages of a serious infection, I also have 47 other skin/blood diseases, some of which are not yet known to mankind.

-Monday morning, 12:15am. I decide to call the one person who is able to talk sense into me. Cathy advises me to call Cigna and get on the 24-hour nurse hotline and explain the situation.

-Monday morning, 12:30am. I am told that I need to see a doctor immediately since I am in a foreign country and they have no idea what kinds of organisms/bacteria/diseases might be living in the ground in India (I immediately recall my first blog where we witness a little boy doing a #2 in the middle of the street). Furthermore, she tells me that the red streaks are “not good.”

-Monday morning 12:45am. Rajiv accompanies me to the local Mysore hospital where I am taken to the emergency room. I notice the various signs on the door as I walk down the hall. Office. X-ray. Surgery. I get ushered into a room where the sign says “Casualty.” All of a sudden, I don’t feel so good (Rajiv did tell me after we left the hospital that “Casualty” is the term they use for the ER. A small detail that would have been good to know BEFORE visiting the hospital).

-Monday morning, 12:55am. While we are waiting in the ER (which is definitely NOT clean by any stretch of the imagination), the power shuts off in the hospital. It is completely pitch black. My doctor comes in through the door way using her cell phone to illuminate the path. I start to feel even worse.

-Monday morning, 1:00am. The doctor takes a look at my arms, scribbles a prescription on a pad and asks Rajiv to go to the pharmacy to buy me the appropriate medicine AND medical syringe. Did I mention that I am not feeling too great about the situation yet?

-Monday morning, 1:05am. I have the pleasant experience of having my wounds scrubbed and washed with alcohol (which they called spirits), peroxide, and iodine. I’d be lying to you if I told you that it felt great.

-Monday morning, 1:10am. Rajiv explains to me that they will be injecting me with an antihistamine. I roll up my sleeves to get my shot and the nurse tells me he is going to inject it in my butt. I’m not one to argue so…when in Rome, right?

-Monday morning, 1:12am. Doctor explains to me that the red streaks are most likely an allergic reaction to something that got into my wounds, shouldn’t be a problem and to come back the next day if streaks don’t get better.

-Monday morning, 1:15am. They tell me that I need to pay for my bill. As Rajiv and I walk to the front desk, I wonder if I should have brought my credit card with me. Here is what the breakdown was:

Consultation- 60 rupees (about $1.50 US)
Hospital set-up fee- 10 rupees (about $0.25 US)
Medication and syringe- 9 rupees (about $0.25 US)
Total fee for my ER visit with medication- 79 rupees (about $2.00 US)

I wonder what Cigna will do if I try to submit this for reimbursement?

So there it is. My little adventure to start the week. I paid $2.00 US for a great story that I will never forget for the rest of my life.