Sick!

I got sick this week.  Really, really sick.  Sicker than I've probably ever been in my life.  I spent 3 days in the hospital and 4 days in bed at home.  From severe aches to high grade fever (103) to other lovelies I’ll avoid mentioning, it was awful.

I decided to eat with my team this week and figured I’d be safe enough with them.  Turns out that the last place we at on Friday had something in it that caused an acute infection in my intestines that got bad really quickly.

I began feeling symptoms late Saturday and tossed and turned and suffered until early Monday morning when we decided I should go to the hospital.  Work sent one of my team members to go with me to the hospital so Candace could stay with the kids.  Ahm did a great job at looking out for me, translating, and helping out any way he could.  After several hours of antibiotics and fluids via IV, I started feeling a little better. 

Thanks to those members of my family who reached out and extended their sympathies, thoughts and prayers. They were very much felt and appreciated!

It has taken a full 7 days to get back to 80-90% normal.  So while I fully embrace Thai food and culture, I think I’ll avoid embracing street/vendor food for a long while.

So what’s medical care like here?  Well, I attended a private hospital and the care was on par with what I’ve received in the states.  I mean a few of the practices of the nurses weren’t super hygenic (e.g. no sink in the room, rare use of gloves, etc), but overall, it was great.  I asked Ahm if the public care was equivalent and he laughed and said no.

What’s the cost of 3 days in a private hospital, tons of medicines, meals, etc with no insurance coverage up front?  $1700.  Yep, that’s it.  Unbelieveable.  Still can’t figure out where the rest of the money goes in the states for equivalent care.