Everything's Gonna Be Alright

There is a storyline that has dominated the past week down here in Nicaragua. Since you heard from us last Friday, we have set an alarm 6 days in a row and rolled out to the Villa El Carmen hospital. The infection in Julia's leg is now gone but has left a deep wound that now needs to heal. It wasn't easy so please allow me to tell you how we got to this point. 

The fun began on Friday as we visited the retired nurse who lives on property for Julia's butt injection. The nurse noticed we bought the wrong needles (too small) so we had to borrow her car to find the nearest farmacia. Venturing out to the small village of San Cayetano, I got to drive a beat up Mitsubishi sedan down the bumpy 11 km dirt road, 2 kms down the main hwy, and then explored the rough village streets. It was a blast to be driving for the first time in 6 months and tried my best to fit in. On our way back home, Julia noticed some local ladies aggressively waving for us to stop. There was no debate, we immediately stopped and loaded them up into the back seat. Six total people piled in; 3 women, 2 kids, and 1 infant. About halfway down the road they got out and we enjoyed the feeling of picking up Nicaraguan hitchhikers. The new needles worked good, although the retired nurse once poked Julia in the bum before realizing that she had forgotten to put the medicine in it. 

Saturday morning was the beginning of the following 6 day pattern: Leave the house at 7:15 AM, Osman or Angie drive us to the hospital, a nurse aggressively cleans the wound, Julia squeezes my hand while enduring a great amount of pain, I start feeling a little nauseous, Julia is given a shot of an antibiotic, we buy medicine and gauze from the farmacia across the street, breakfast plates and banana drinks are purchased from the restaurant next door, we get back home and contemplate on some what-ifs, then Julia rests. It was good to get into a pattern and know what to expect. Julia knew the pain was coming yet she welcomed it hoping that it was the key to a speedy recovery. She is tougher than I realized and imagine I would have told them to just put me under and cut my lower leg off because I fear pain.

Meds helped the swelling go down, still not pretty (picture from Saturday -1 week ago)

Some of the tools

             

The daily routine

Sunday was a bit of a turning point for a few reasons. We met a different doctor who spoke decent english and she prescribed a more aggressive treatment. Instead of penicillin shots in the rear, Julia was given a temporary IV port in the hand and given stronger antibiotics (Ceftriaxone). Plus she got some gel (Sufrexal) to put on the wound after each cleaning which took us 3 towns and 5 different farmacias to find. It was good to be able to speak directly to the doctor and get answers to some questions. These changes made us feel more confident in the treatment she was receiving here and thought less about heading into the big city of Managua in search of a specialist.

                                                                    

                                                                Showing off her IV

                                                  Cleaning the wound each day at home

I don't want to give you too much of the gory details, but will try to give you an idea of the infection healing arc. The wound grew to a large black & blue bump and was firm all around. The IV meds immediately began to kill the infection and it shrunk back to skin level although the color remained a dark purple with white spots. It was now a circle filled with dead tissue and this is what the nurses attacked each day, cleaning out as much as possible using sharp utensils and some gauze. The wound turned into a hole that had some depth to it and freaked us out a little. The doctor assured us that the infection was only in the skin and did not spread to the muscle as Julia had feared. At this point we felt good that she appeared to be on the mend but knew a decent sized scar was pretty much unavoidable and just prayed it wouldn't be a huge divot. Currently it is filling in nicely and the color is much better with little to no lingering pain. 

  

                                 Looking much better (picture taken today, Friday)

Thursday (yesterday), we had hopefully our last hospital visit. They took out the IV port, switched Julia to an oral antibiotic, and told us to only come back if it got worse. We also realized yesterday that the pharmacy on Tuesday had given us an intramuscular antibiotic and the 2 shots she got on Wednesday were given intravenously. Not sure if that is bad. Now she just needs to take a couple pills and clean it twice a day for about a week. It was a good feeling to be able to sleep in today. 

Now that the important stuff has been covered, there are just a few quick side notes I would like to add:

-- Kaiden came in to the hospital with us on Saturday and Sunday because he had 2 bug bites that also didn't look normal. They gave him some medicine and the bumps seem to be healing nicely.

-- Taking multiple trips down the 11 km dirt road with Osman made us realize that he knows 90% of the people we passed by. Nearly every person gets a whistle, honk, or shout no matter if they are riding a horse or ox drawn carriage or just standing on the side of the road. Many of the resort workers live on this road plus a lot of people they do business with. From the family they rent cars from, to the house where they buy propane, the mechanic who fixes his bike, or the lady who makes bread. This is their community and it gives me that small midwestern town feel with one main street where everybody knows everybody. 

-- During one trip to the hospital, we saw a large group of pre-med gringos from all over the U.S. They were dressed in scrubs and were doing observations at multiple Nicaraguan medical centers. We met the leader who just happened to be from NE Portland. We told her about the care we had received and showed a few pictures. 

-- Without a saw, I used a machete to cut a 2x4 in order to add support to the dresser.

                                            Feeling better and getting back to normal life

The timing of the medical issue couldn't have been better. It was a slow 2 week period with Angie and Osman around to drive and translate. We can't thank them enough for all they did for us. With Julia on the mend, we will now turn our attention back to the house projects that need to be completed. The Smetana parents arrive next Saturday and we look forward to the distraction. 

Too Legit To Quit

Micah and I have discussed the fact that the blog is likely to get boring and redundant for the month we're back at the resort. A lot of talk and pictures of house projects, golf, Kaiden, feeble surf attempts. I have a fair dose of those stories too, but for you, our loyal readers, I decided to spice up the excitement of this blog by letting a bug bite my right calf and cause a hideous infection. Warning: if you scroll further, you will subject your eyes to pictures of said wound.

Last Saturday, I remember noticing a small pimple-like bump on my leg but didn't think much of it. Sunday is Angie's typical day off and we all spent the day keeping busy with house projects, including assembling the garden bed and trying to fix the dresser drawers with new hardware. The closest town to us, Villa El Carmen, celebrated their yearly festival and we discussed going but felt content working at home. And I told the group my leg felt funny and I wasn't sure walking for hours would help.

On Monday, Angie and Osman left for an overnight work trip to Managua. This meant we had our first slumber party with Kaiden! Micah and I agreed the two days that they would vacate their room would be the optimal time to paint their bedroom. I was excited to surprise them with the newly painted room, which means we told them multiple lies when they called; that we'd been lazy all day, that we were at the office so they couldn't speak to Kaiden. Apparently we're not good liars (or Angie has really high expectations) because Tuesday night when they arrived home, she asked immediately how the room looked.

Prepping the closet for paint

The finished product. Kitty approves.

Besides the hours of prep work and painting, we had the evenings together with Kaiden. We read stories, played hide and seek, and he was our official photographer and DJ when we still had work to do in the room. He even played his guitar and sang to us, naked of course. Bedtime proved to be difficult until he asked for Micah to come lay down too. Once Micah faked asleep and Kaiden was quiet to not wake him, he curled right up and was sound asleep.

                                     
                                                      Taking a break from painting

During the painting days, Micah and I noticed my leg was getting more red, it was warm and firm to the touch, and I had to be cautious of my position since it was tender. My support team analyzed the
situation on Tuesday night and it was decided that we'd drive 30 minutes to the local hospital of Villa El Carmen the next day.

Tuesday afternoon

Wednesday, it looked worse and I was beginning to feel guilty for not taking care of this obvious infection earlier. The guilt was I nterspersed with thoughts that it would be fine and maybe I didn't need to go but really, I just didn't want anyone to touch it. Osman drove Micah and I to Villa El Carmen in the early afternoon and we checked in at the Emergency Room. The hospital is a "Centro de Salud" or health center. It has an emergency room, a separate building that seemed to be used for appointments and specialties, and a pharmacy. The buildings are small, single level and painted bright pink and blue. I suspect it is the old town school. The hospital is government run which is amazing because that means all services, including medications, are free. The waiting room of the Emergencia was half full, mostly with mothers holding young babies. We were the only gringos and I seemed to be the only one with an open wound.

Osman was much more excited than I was

We checked in with the nurses who were standing inside a room that you looked into when you walked through the main door. Osman explained everything to them, I showed them my leg, the nurse looked grossed out and asked a few appropriate questions before we were told to wait. An hour and a half later, we met the serious and busy local doctor who scribbled on five prescription pads for me, glanced briefly at my leg, gave it a firmer than desired squeeze and told me I'd get penicillin injections today and need to return for more tomorrow. Her diagnosis was an infected abcess likely from an insect bite. Halfway through the three minutes with the MD, the electricity went out in the building, the flood light switched on and gave the room an eerie orange glow, and she continued scribbling without a pause.

The good news was the injections in my butt hurt so much that I couldn't feel my calf for a bit! The nurse cleaned the wound, squeezed it, and bandaged it. Micah held my hand and let me wipe my tears in his shirt.

In the "private" room waiting for two intramuscular penicillin injections 

There's a fly just below the wound

Thursday morning we returned before 8am as they instructed. I swear when the same nurse saw me, she mumbled "oh yeah, this chic" in Spanish. She gave me another penicillin injection, an aggressive cleaning and had another nurse come look at it. You know you should have gone to the doctor sooner when they start nudging each other. The nurse then delivered the great news that they weren't going to slice me open right then, but only because the tissue around it is too firm. They threatened this the day before so I was anxiously expecting a mini operation but I am relieved they'll let the infection settle more.

I warned you

We were told to wait in another part of the hospital for the doctor consult. The same MD came in, scribbled on ten more prescription pads, and added an oral antibiotic to my treatment regimen. I'm not sure she even saw my leg, but I'm content with flushing my system with antibiotics before they poke and prod at it anymore. The MD instructed us to return on Saturday for them to cut or push it to release more.... stuff. Today, Friday, a retired nurse who lives on property is going to deliver my penicillin injection.

The good news about this is that we're at the resort with family, not traveling or sleeping in dirty hostals. We also have skilled interpreters so we know what the medical team is saying. The bad news is it hurts and is annoying, but it sounds like I'll get to keep my leg! The rest of yesterday, I laid low with my leg elevated since it hurts when gravity is winning. Micah is secretly thrilled that I'm most comfortable laying down with my leg elevated because he thinks that means we're going to spend the next three days watching the British Open. I'll happily lay low and lazy, and hope that this adventure means we get to check experience healthcare in a third world country off our list and not repeat it again this year.

Also- my friend interviewed us about our year for her travel consultation business. If you haven't seen it and would like to read more about this amazing year, click here: https://getoutoftown.squarespace.com/tips/gap-year-through-central-america

A Day In The Life

It has been 10 days since our last post but there are only a few highlights that I will share:

Last Saturday (4th of July): The Canadian intern that just turned 22 a few weeks ago is now about to leave for South Africa. Thus another party was in order that would be very similiar to the last, except the participants were mostly workers from around the property. We caught a little bit of the resorts fireworks display, rented a van to drive the group around, ate pizza and drank rum at Burrito Banditos, danced at the same bar in Masachapa, and stayed out way too late before eating leftover pizza during the ride home. 

The next few days I again felt my age and rested while watching sporting events such as the Women's World Cup and Wimbledon. I have also enjoyed watching the World University Games where a USA team, which is basically the Jayhawks, compete against other countries in South Korea. A rare treat in the summer and a glimpse of the upcoming season. 

Monday: Julia headed out with some new friends on a quick girls-only trip to León to do some shopping. Since I was not allowed to tag along, I will now let Julia make a guest appearance to fill you in on the details.

(Julia here)

The Canadian intern (D), another intern (J), and I decided to hitchhike and take two buses to get to León. We met up with another friend of J's in León who has been traveling around the world for a year on a scholarship. The purpose of the trip was primarily to find winter clothes for D who leaves for cooler weather in South Africa in a week. Besides hitting up numerous thrift stores, we were successful in hitch hiking twice (and failed once when no cars passed, ended up calling Osman to save us), we got lost in León once and managed to eat ice cream, twice. We also sat around our hostal in rocking chairs while sharing a box of wine and exchanging travel stories. 

(Micah is back)

Wednesday: We began working on cutting and sanding wood to build a garden box before being talked into heading out to the surf beach. Taking Kaiden to play in the sand is always a good time and he especially enjoyed sliding down the sand bank and pretending to fall. 

                        Improvising 

                     The kid loves the sand

Thursday: Julia and I headed into Managua with Angie to do some shopping. The main goal was the hardware store to get supplies for painting and other projects. As always, the trip took all day but we got a good amount done and can now get to work. 

Friday: One more farewell party for the Canadian intern involved a BBQ at our house with about 8 friends and acuaintanances from the property. Osman grilled up a variety of meats to perfection including pineapple, onions, and green peppers. It was fun to semi-host a party and I am proud to say that I was the first one to jump into the pool with my clothes on (mostly because Julia dared me).

   Picture of a Polaroid that someone took last night

Today is Saturday and we continue to work on little projects like fixing the clothesline and sorting through old baby outfits. We are also beginning to study up on the regions south of us and plan out our time. This is our life for the next month. The highlight for the next week will be when I wake up early tomorrow morning to watch the Wimbledon final. 

At The Beach

Saturday we set out to explore Big Corn Island on four wheels. The golf cart we cruised in had enough room for 6 and was older than all of us combined. Micah was the courageous driver and the only time his courage failed was when we believed the cart could make it up a moderately steep hill. A few hundred feet up the hill, we slowly lost speed until suddenly the cart was beginning to go backwards down the hill. We coasted back down with the men controlling the cart from the back, since the brakes only kind of worked. Along with the lack of power steering, the four hours we had the cart were quite an adventure. After discovering the cart would not make it up that hill, we parked at the bottom and hiked past a school, found two young local boys who served as our tour guides, and were rewarded at the top with a great panoramic of the island.

      Backing the ancient golf cart back down the hill

                  Looking inside one of the classrooms in the school we passed

                             South end from Mount Pleasant viewpoint

We stopped for lunch at a recommended fish taco restaurant, but since they didn't have any fish, I ordered chicken tacos and the others ordered meat on top of fried plantains. The north shore of the island boasts a large reef with great snorkeling, but we were unsuccessful in finding a beach to access the reef. Plus we got rained on. 

      Boats were all along the beach front and multiple were seen ship wrecked off coast

After decompressing for the afternoon in hammocks with books back at our bungalows, we walked the streets in search of dinner. The food on the island didn't disappoint, although we didn't find the unique island food we all would have loved. Lobster season began July 1st, 2 days after we left. Rumor has it that during the season, lobster flows like water. We did partake in some lobster ceviche at the restaurant we found Saturday evening, otherwise the food that night was typical Nicaraguan: burrito, rice, chicken in a salsa sauce.

                                             Reading in front of our hotel

Our lodging at El Paraíso included breakfast consisting of gallo pinto, eggs, bread, and fruit. The four of us ate together Sunday morning before Megan, Brock and I decided to take advantage of the yoga class at 8:30, taught by the chef. It was a fine class, especially since it was free, and very basic which is probably necessary since it tailors to many different levels. We each grunted and struggled a bit and my hamstrings are still a little sore.

                                                            Bungalows

Micah and I promised Megan and Brock a Carribean Island get-a-way and although the weather didn't want to cooperate, we were determined to get our beach time in. The large swells and constant wind made the water too murky for us to snorkel in, so after a weak attempt we all laid in the sand and soaked up the warm rays for the afternoon. Brock lasted about 15 minutes before he had enough rays, which a few hours later turned his belly bright red, to match his back and his sides. Megan faired slightly better, a few shades less bright red. 

                                   Playa Coco, minutes from our hotel 

Around lunch time, we walked to Roxy's where we ate a few days earlier to find they were closed on Sundays. Eventually we landed in the town center and found a new local diner with typical Nica food and a refreshing cantaloupe watermelon drink. We played on the teeter-toter and monkey bars across the street and spent the rest of the afternoon nursing the burns with cool cloths and Ibuprofen.

                                                      Local food

                    Although we out-weighed him, Brock dominated on the teeter-toter

As Micah mentioned in the previous blog, we met the chef on the plane ride to the island. This felt like a stroke of luck since Megan has gluten and dairy allergies. He was helpful during our 4 days there, answering her questions so she could eat safely. Sunday night was pizza night and he had discussed trying a cauliflower crust for her, so we decided to eat at the resort for pizza night. Unfortunately, the cauliflower crust didn't happen so Brock, Micah and I ate an all-meat pizza and a shrimp pesto pizza while Megan patiently waited for her fajitas. We split two pitchers of sangria and enjoyed our last night together on the island.

On Monday, we had a few hours to kill before our 4pm flight. Megan and I had a private yoga class that morning, we went for a walk on the beach, packed our bags, and grabbed a quick bite for lunch. Caught our short 75 minute flight to Managua and taxied to our hotel. Megan's parents graciously used reward points and booked us a room at the Hilton Princess for the night. It was glorious. We had discussed finding a cheap dinner that night, but there was no need: we made a full meal of the "hors d'oeuvres" they set out in the executive lounge. Our room included 2 alcoholic drinks per person and unlimited non-alcoholic drinks, which we also took advantage of. With full bellies of bacon wrapped beef, chunks of cheese, fancy bread and cheesecake, the boys walked across the street to pick up last minute souvenirs and Megan and I went to find the jacuzzi. We struggled to find the jacuzzi and eventually asked the front desk; once the man stifled his laughter, we were informed there is no jacuzzi so we decided to go swim in the outdoor pool so we didn't look like idiots walking around in dry swimsuits.

                       One last walk on the beach with Nike, our hotel puppy

Goodbyes were said at 4:45am on Tuesday morning, as Megan and Brock left us to catch their 7:30 flight. Like children on Christmas morning, a few hours later Micah and I excitedly tip-toed into the executive lounge, feeling bare without our companions, and found another large spread of food for our breakfast. We ate bacon (bacon!!), omelettes and fruit, and I snuck some yogurt out in case we needed more later. We checked out of the hotel at the last minute possible, and returned to what we know and are good at: walking in the heat with our backpacks on. 

We found the bus that brought us as close as any bus could to my sister's home, about 11 km away. Our plan was to spend 10 minutes trying to hitchhike the seldomly used road and then buckle and take a moto taxi if plan A failed. Within 5 minutes, we successfully flagged down a truck that just happened to be going to the office at Gran Pacifica, letting us out 20ft from where my sister sat at her desk. For as many times as we've come and gone from the resort, we've never done public transit to or from the resort and were pleased to find it is very do-able. This may allow us more opportunities for short trips in the next month.

                   Free ride in the back of a truck with a ladder and beer posters

Back at the house, we gawked at the fact that Kaiden seems to be taller and speaking more in just one week. We began the traditions of returning to the house; washing clothes, unpacking bags. Normal routine quickly fell in to place that evening too, catching up on the days with Angie and Osman and eating dinner together.

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a preview of our next 5 weeks here at the resort. We ate breakfast, chased Kaiden around the house, Micah began one of many house projects (repairing the drawers in the dresser) and Angie came home at lunch to eat with us. After Kaiden took his afternoon nap, Micah and I took him down to the beach to build sand castles and splash in the waves before we watched the surfers and the sunset from the pool. Once back at the house in the evening, we made a nice salad for dinner, Angie and I looked at paint colors for the two bedrooms in the house and we watched TV.

                                                 Back at our beach

We have little else on our agenda for the month of July. More beach time, more golfing and more family time is a given. Micah and I made a to-do list with Angie and Osman of house projects they'd like done, ideally before my parents arrive on August 1st. This, and Kaiden, should keep us plenty busy. And we will begin our research on the 2 countries we still have to visit, Costa Rica and Panama, along with the parts of Nicaragua we want to explore. Our week with Megan and Brock was just what we needed: time catching up with dear friends we've missed from home, and a reminder of all the parts of Nicaragua we have yet to see.

-J2