The day I got really sick.

Well.. this trip kind of took a down turn for a couple of days. 3 nights ago, I got really sick. Throwing up..plus other bodily functions you don't want to know about.. the whole enchilada. I woke up on Monday and tried to go to school.. but Ajarn Ann and Phii Stacy saw that there was definitely something more wrong with me and took me to the hospital.

The hospital..ChiangMai Ram.. was actually really nice! Bright colors everywhere, and I didn't wait that long in the emergency room. The doctor saw me within 20 minutes and after pressing down on my stomach (which was SERIOUSLY painful) decided that it was probably appendicitus. He ordered a room for me, and I had to take x-rays, catscans, blood tests, and a whole other slew of tests, and all the while I was praying that I wouldn't need surgery. I feel bad for my poor mom.. I had to call her in the middle of the night and let her know that I was in the hospital. Not exactly what she wanted to hear.

I got put in my room.. which was actually beautiful. I had a nice view of the city, a pink comforter that matched the pink wall paper, a fridge, microwave, couch, table, and a bathroom. On the door it said VIP, so I was kind of a celebrity for a couple of days. No big deal.

After a couple of hours, the doctor came back with good news and bad news. Good news: it wasn't appendicitus. Bad news: It was colitus, an infection in the colon (gross..) and it takes about 5 days to heal with severe antibiotics. He assured me that I would not leave the hospital for at least 2 days, and maybe longer if my fever didn't break. That was kind of sad to hear. I missed the first couple of days of intensive Thai language, and shopping for traditional Thai outfits. But one of the leaders from the program was always with me, which was really nice. They really took good care of me :).

The hospital is actually really good, and people from America actually come there to get surgeries done because it is so much cheaper than America. I had a little trouble with the first IV.. I was really dehydrated and they used a HUGE needle. Those of you who know me well know that I despise needles more than anything. Needless to say, it wasn't easy.. and it was really painful. On the second day, my hand was swollen twice its normal size and it was blue... so they moved the IV from my left hand to my right hand..using a MUCH smaller needle.. and that made me happy :)

The nurses were really funny. They would always smile and they didn't really speak English that well. They would always come in and throw a thermometer in my mouth, while slapping on a blood pressure machine and a oxygen measurer, and then ask me "How many times peepee this hour? poopoo?" They did this every hour.. even in the middle of the night when they would throw the lights on...startling me like no other. But they were very efficient with their job!

Four of my fabulous friends here came and visited me, and tried to teach me Thai. That was interesting. We got in trouble with the nurses for "having a party." Hahaha we were probably really loud. but I love them to death. Some of the best people I could be in a differnet country with.

I was discharged this morning.. on my birthday :). Stacy stayed the night with me and gave me a card and a Thai purse which was really sweet. When Ajarn Mike and Ajarn Ann picked me up, they came with flowers and smiles, drove me back to the hotel where I was greeted by everyone in the program. I watched everyone get ready for the traditional Thai dinner tonight.. they all looked SO cool. I'll have to get myself one of those outfits. While I am really sad I cannot go to the dinner, I'm happy I get the opportunity to rest and get healthy.

Thank you so much for your concerned messages! I felt all of your prayers here, and they were very appreciated. Love you all so much, and I hope this is my sick quota for the trip! :)