Sunday, March 13, 2022

Trouble in Paradise

I sit in my home. It has been a cold day. Now it is a chilly afternoon, 46°F, but sunny. I am on WhatsApp with Nuria. I am in the USA, and Nuria is in Costa Rica, at a hospital where she has taken her adult daughter, Mary, to the Emergency Room. Hopefully, it is not something serious, but Mary is in a lot of pain and is weak and probably dehydrated. One time I became unable to eat or drink, and a sip of water would come back up immediately. I went to the ER, and they put me on IV fluids. They had a lot of trouble inserting the IV needle because I was so dehydrated that my veins had shrunk. After I was re-hydrated I felt much better. I left the ER without being admitted. Although they did a CT scan just to be sure there wasn't another problem. A small problem, if untreated, can cause a big problem. You know the old proverbs. A stitch in time saves nine. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

(As I chat with Nuria on WhatsApp, the setting sun glints through my front windows, through the Venetian blinds, and through a glass snail that sits in my window. I bought it a long time ago. I had planned to give it to someone, but plans sometimes change. It's an interesting objet d'art—more interesting to view in the sunlight than to see in a photo.)

Americans seem to think Costa Rica is a little slice of Paradise. It has a reputation for being a pretty country, especially the tourist areas. It has a nice climate during the tourist season, with sunny days and beautiful beaches. For added excitement, it has six active volcanoes and 61 dormant ones. Plus, occasional earthquakes. The USA also has active volcanoes and earthquakes. My small city in Virginia had an earthquake and I blogged about it here. In fact, we were hit with an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week.

The doctors have completed their tests. Mary has pelionefritis (pyelonephritis in English). It's a kidney infection and requires treatment in the hospital. So Mary will be staying there for a few days. And that's what is going on in my life. And it's not even about my life. I don't have a real life, I just rent one from my friends.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Greetings

I enjoyed reading about the varies subjects in this blog. I love the sunlight through the snail. I bet that's a great story as well.

I do hope your friends daughter gets well soon --

Soon we will have the hot sun blaring down on us and the cold will be a distant memory until next year. Can't wait.

Best, LL

Anonymous said...

Hola!

I am sorry to hear about Nuria's daughter and I hope she will feel better soon and release from the hospital, I know what it means to be there. I am sure is not a vacation day.

I love your glass snail, it looks so bright and shiny thru the window and I like very much the way how you took the photo, too.

I heard that is snowed in VA this past weekend and I was surprised about it. I did not know that could happened in March when spring is very close, but I bet that this is the last time that you will see white there.

Opposite in Costa Rica, is always hot and sunny even in winter. I will love to spend another vacation there, it is beautiful.

I enjoyed your post a lot!
Gracias

TA