This post is to let you all know that my trip was cut a bit short and I'm back in North Carolina.
I was finally hospitalized after passing out in the mall. Luckily, I was blessed to meet some very kind people through this experience that helped out in a very big way! After the mall security revived me, a very nice lady drove me in her car to the hospital. First, I was admitted to the public hospital Groote Schuur. That was quite the horrifying experience. People were laying everywhere, the medical student didn't sterilize the catheter that he stabbed me with 6 times. I finally was moved to the UCT private hospital next door after the lady called the doctor I had seen earlier. I stayed in the hospital 3 days. Treatment is not how we Americans know it. I am just thankful to be alive after all that went on in those 3 long days.
My dad then got in contact with the "angel family." He happened to be at a business meeting Thursday and a client knew a neighbor who's brother lives in Cape Town. The brother, Leo, and his family were my angels. They are honestly the nicest people I have ever been blessed to meet. They took me home from the hospital Friday night and helped arrange a place for my dad and I to stay on Saturday when he arrived.
We stayed at the Highlands B&B until Tuesday, when we flew out. 30 hours later, we arrived safe and sound in Asheboro. I have visited the doctor, had more x-rays and blood work done. The final verdict seems to be: mold led to allergies that caused fluid to build up in my lungs that got infected and caused pneumonia, asthma developed for the first time and was aggravated by the pneumonia, the over-dose I received in the hospital and the high-steroid doses have led to acid reflux that has worn away at my ulva a little and makes sleeping extremely difficult.
I am now on the road to recovery, no coffee, and apartment searching....
Wish me luck!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sniff Sniff
Modeling my new hair & humidifier that I realized must be returned because it is the opposite of what I need to solve my mold problem. The lady at the store told me it would "capture mold spores in the air" :(
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Third time's a charm
This morning I called a cab to get my antibiotic prescription from the hospital filled. When I got to the pharmacy, I made sure to double-check the prescription after all the mistakes the doctor had made last night. The antibiotics he wrote were for UTIs. UGH!
I then decided to try the UCT hospital. They are supposed to be closed on the weekend, but luckily the receptionist could see how hard it was for me to breathe and asked a very kind doctor to help me. He ran an X-ray and some blood work. I will hear about the blood test on Tuesday when the office opens back up (Monday is Women's Day - a national holiday). He gave me antibiotics for my bronchitis, a steroid-spray to kick the inflamation in my lungs and a liquid cough supressant. I also now have to take pills and a nasal spray to help combat my allergy sensitivity (5 things in all).
I am feeling much better now! I still have a few days before I'll be back in action, but I'm so happy to finally get some relief from my asthma attacks and cough-spasms.
_____________________
Interesting factoid I found while looking up air purifiers:
I then decided to try the UCT hospital. They are supposed to be closed on the weekend, but luckily the receptionist could see how hard it was for me to breathe and asked a very kind doctor to help me. He ran an X-ray and some blood work. I will hear about the blood test on Tuesday when the office opens back up (Monday is Women's Day - a national holiday). He gave me antibiotics for my bronchitis, a steroid-spray to kick the inflamation in my lungs and a liquid cough supressant. I also now have to take pills and a nasal spray to help combat my allergy sensitivity (5 things in all).
I am feeling much better now! I still have a few days before I'll be back in action, but I'm so happy to finally get some relief from my asthma attacks and cough-spasms.
_____________________
Interesting factoid I found while looking up air purifiers:
In The News
It is estimated that around 2,000 children die annually in South Africa as a result of respiratory infections caused by air pollution, making it the sixth largest killer of children under the age of 4.
Furthermore, levels of carbon monoxide in Johannesburg have been shown to exceed hourly WHO guidelines during winter.
(As reported in the Star Newspaper dated 19/09/98)
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Hospital Visit
Well today I will be trying out the South African medical services for the first time. I have had immense fluid in my lungs for the past three days and have been wheezing/coughing my head off. I can't lie flat at night without feeling as if I'm drowning. Don't think I can tought this one out.
Luckily I have a good international insurance provider, HTH worldwide. I used the HTH website to get a list of recommended hospital/clinics. I'm going to Claremont Life Hospital. It's about 10 minutes from my house by car. Wish me luck.
________________
Janina and I just got back from Consteintiaberg Hospital. She was so very nice and took such good care of me. First we tried the Claremont Life Hospital, but for some odd reason they only had one doctor on call in the ER Unit and he had just gotten sick and left. So they sent us to another hospital....it took us about 30 minutes to find it. Being sent to the other hospital was a blessing in disguise because it was a much better facility that the previous one. I was diagnosed with a lung infection and asthma. All of the smog and cigarette smoke around the area has caused my lungs to be inflamed and my throat to swell, trapping the mucous in my lungs. I was given two breathing treatments with antibiotics and an inflamation reducer to open my airway (pic curteousy of Janina's phone) and a prescription for more allergy medication, an inhaler and heart burn medicine (heart burn can often worsen respiratory allergies). Overall, it cost me R638 for the hospital visit and R324 for the medicine (approx. $120). I am so so so thankful to have insurance. Otherwise, I would have been turned away like so many poor people in this country. The health care system is in vast need of supporting more of its people.
_______________
I had to make a second visit because I couldn't catch my breath and the inhaler was of no use. The doctor on duty was not so good. He didn't examine me since I had been in before. He just gave me another nebulizer treatment, let me sit for over an hour without coming back and tried to give me a prescription for penicillin (ON MY CHART). Please pray pray pray I don't get sick anymore while in South Africa.
Luckily I have a good international insurance provider, HTH worldwide. I used the HTH website to get a list of recommended hospital/clinics. I'm going to Claremont Life Hospital. It's about 10 minutes from my house by car. Wish me luck.
________________
Janina and I just got back from Consteintiaberg Hospital. She was so very nice and took such good care of me. First we tried the Claremont Life Hospital, but for some odd reason they only had one doctor on call in the ER Unit and he had just gotten sick and left. So they sent us to another hospital....it took us about 30 minutes to find it. Being sent to the other hospital was a blessing in disguise because it was a much better facility that the previous one. I was diagnosed with a lung infection and asthma. All of the smog and cigarette smoke around the area has caused my lungs to be inflamed and my throat to swell, trapping the mucous in my lungs. I was given two breathing treatments with antibiotics and an inflamation reducer to open my airway (pic curteousy of Janina's phone) and a prescription for more allergy medication, an inhaler and heart burn medicine (heart burn can often worsen respiratory allergies). Overall, it cost me R638 for the hospital visit and R324 for the medicine (approx. $120). I am so so so thankful to have insurance. Otherwise, I would have been turned away like so many poor people in this country. The health care system is in vast need of supporting more of its people.
_______________
I had to make a second visit because I couldn't catch my breath and the inhaler was of no use. The doctor on duty was not so good. He didn't examine me since I had been in before. He just gave me another nebulizer treatment, let me sit for over an hour without coming back and tried to give me a prescription for penicillin (ON MY CHART). Please pray pray pray I don't get sick anymore while in South Africa.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Camps Bay
Photographs from a nice Friday afternoon at Camps Bay - complete with boulder climbing, sandy toes and cold salty water :)
Thursday, August 6, 2009
My First SHAWCO
Today was my first volunteer day with SHAWCO. I will volunteer every Thursday from 2-5pm at the Khayelitsha Centre (K2) (http://www.shawco.org/content/view/32/62/) with the section called SMART. Thursdays with SMART focuses on science and I will be tutoring physics this semester. I am so excited because I met my group of four girls today, whom I will get to know and work with over the course of this semester. They are so ambitious and smart! I feel truly blessed to work with such a neat group of young women.
Each week, I will be working on a lesson that corresponds with what the girls are learning at school. The lesson today was electrostatics. We worked over the positive and negative charges of protons and electrons, magnetic fields, waves and the formulae used to determine the amount of force contributed by a particular source. Being the silly person I am, I used lots of big hand gestures and funny analogies to help ease the dryness of the topic. We were all smiles and quickly worked through the assigned problems in the book.
After finishing the lesson at hand, I asked the girls if they had any questions from other homework and we went over a few more physics and some algebra problems. It was so nice to feel like I helped them grasp topics that will contribute toward their Matrics and further their education. I am pumped to refresh my memory on this fun topic and make some awesome friends!
Each week, I will be working on a lesson that corresponds with what the girls are learning at school. The lesson today was electrostatics. We worked over the positive and negative charges of protons and electrons, magnetic fields, waves and the formulae used to determine the amount of force contributed by a particular source. Being the silly person I am, I used lots of big hand gestures and funny analogies to help ease the dryness of the topic. We were all smiles and quickly worked through the assigned problems in the book.
After finishing the lesson at hand, I asked the girls if they had any questions from other homework and we went over a few more physics and some algebra problems. It was so nice to feel like I helped them grasp topics that will contribute toward their Matrics and further their education. I am pumped to refresh my memory on this fun topic and make some awesome friends!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Pictures Around
Having lunch with Janina on Long Street at Mozart Cafe :)
At Water Front:
View from Upper Campus in the Morning:
At Water Front:
View from Upper Campus in the Morning:
Schtick Shift
Today I attempted to learn to drive a stick. Let me just point out that I have never in my life driven a manual car and I have only ridden in one less times than the fingers on my two hands... So! It was a valiant effort. I can now say I am an expert at driving in a circle when no cars are around. My next goal is to be able to drive (and not get so nervous) when other cars are around me haha!
A special thanks goes out to Dominik for having all the patience in the world and risking his life to teach me ;)
Side Note: My house is the second one in the background - the tan one. Super cute isn't it?
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Liebeskäfer (Love Bug)
As of around 4pm today I have 1/4 share in a love bug :) My house mates Dominik, Janina, Malte and I are renting a Best Beetle for 3 1/2 months. http://www.bestebeetle.co.za/index.php
I contacted the company last weekend and they arranged to pick us up from our house today at 3:30pm. Their office is located in the Norther Suburbs, just past the largest shopping mall I have ever seen. The fun thing about the bug is that we can paint it - any way we want! I cannot wait to have a tricked out hippie mobile.
It is quite the experience riding in a 40-60 year old bug. There are certain tricks to get the car running...just short of doing a rain dance and praying to Saint Herbie. But it runs really well and rides quite comfortably.
I am so excited to finally be able to see more than just Main Rd. in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town! Adventure here we come!
I contacted the company last weekend and they arranged to pick us up from our house today at 3:30pm. Their office is located in the Norther Suburbs, just past the largest shopping mall I have ever seen. The fun thing about the bug is that we can paint it - any way we want! I cannot wait to have a tricked out hippie mobile.
It is quite the experience riding in a 40-60 year old bug. There are certain tricks to get the car running...just short of doing a rain dance and praying to Saint Herbie. But it runs really well and rides quite comfortably.
I am so excited to finally be able to see more than just Main Rd. in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town! Adventure here we come!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
A Pretty Dark Night
It's 2:00 am and my poor housemate, Malte, just got let out of jail. He was picked up in front of our house a few hours ago by the police because he had forgotten his key and was ringing our doorbell. They beat him to the ground, handcuffed him and threw him in the cell with all types of criminals. He didn't know any numbers to call since he's new to the country and didn't know his rights. Thankfully he was released and was able to come back to ring again - this time, long enough to wake us up.
It's a little scary really. Just earlier this week, we had a man ringing our bell and trying to get money or get in, but nothing was to be done but close the door. (note: all houses have gated stoops that provide a two-part locking system, where you can answer the door and still be locked safely away.) There was nothing to do about it, the police don't come unless they are persistent since the problem is so frequent. And yet, here they were to arrest an innocent person and drag him away.
I'm just so glad he was able to come home.
_______
Update on the situation. A drunk student broke the glass on a door two houses down from us about the same time and it caused the alarm to go off. When they arrived and picked up the other student, they suspected Malte of being an accomplice. Oh the craziness of living with boys.
It's a little scary really. Just earlier this week, we had a man ringing our bell and trying to get money or get in, but nothing was to be done but close the door. (note: all houses have gated stoops that provide a two-part locking system, where you can answer the door and still be locked safely away.) There was nothing to do about it, the police don't come unless they are persistent since the problem is so frequent. And yet, here they were to arrest an innocent person and drag him away.
I'm just so glad he was able to come home.
_______
Update on the situation. A drunk student broke the glass on a door two houses down from us about the same time and it caused the alarm to go off. When they arrived and picked up the other student, they suspected Malte of being an accomplice. Oh the craziness of living with boys.
Sunny Saturday
Today was a perfect Saturday.
The morning started bright and early with a short info session and training for SHAWCO (Students' Health and Welfare Centres Organisation). [While here at UCT, I will be spending one afternoon a week volunteering with SHAWCO to tutor underpriviledged children who live in the areas surrounding Cape Town. Read more about SHAWCO here: http://www.shawco.org/] After the trainig, my housemate, Janina, and I went to Cocoa Wah Wah on Main Street for an amazing brunch. We both ordered their infamous cappuccions and I had a most delicious custom sandwich, complete with grilled veg, fried egg, cheese, avocado, tangy lime mayo and lettuce mmm! Afterwards, we did a bit of window shopping and strolled home.
(Picture of the area where we pick up the Jammie with a minibus "caller" who gets customers to ride with the minibus mafia by whistling and yelling out the direction in which they are going.)
Feeling a bit adventurous, we decided to go out again and make our way to the Cavendish Square Shopping Center http://www.cavendish.co.za/. To get there, we tried our luck on the little minibuses running along main street that give you a lift for R5.50 each. It worked! We felt so proud, having found our way. Cavendish Square is a truly beautiful suburb of Cape Town. The shopping center there even puts South Point to shame. After two more hours of window shopping and two lekker smoothies, we came home and vegged. A perfect day to cap off a perfect first week of classes.
This is a picture from the internet of a minibus in Cape Town.
The morning started bright and early with a short info session and training for SHAWCO (Students' Health and Welfare Centres Organisation). [While here at UCT, I will be spending one afternoon a week volunteering with SHAWCO to tutor underpriviledged children who live in the areas surrounding Cape Town. Read more about SHAWCO here: http://www.shawco.org/] After the trainig, my housemate, Janina, and I went to Cocoa Wah Wah on Main Street for an amazing brunch. We both ordered their infamous cappuccions and I had a most delicious custom sandwich, complete with grilled veg, fried egg, cheese, avocado, tangy lime mayo and lettuce mmm! Afterwards, we did a bit of window shopping and strolled home.
(Picture of the area where we pick up the Jammie with a minibus "caller" who gets customers to ride with the minibus mafia by whistling and yelling out the direction in which they are going.)Feeling a bit adventurous, we decided to go out again and make our way to the Cavendish Square Shopping Center http://www.cavendish.co.za/. To get there, we tried our luck on the little minibuses running along main street that give you a lift for R5.50 each. It worked! We felt so proud, having found our way. Cavendish Square is a truly beautiful suburb of Cape Town. The shopping center there even puts South Point to shame. After two more hours of window shopping and two lekker smoothies, we came home and vegged. A perfect day to cap off a perfect first week of classes.
This is a picture from the internet of a minibus in Cape Town.
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