YIKES! Itch, itch, itch, scratch, scratch scratch, runs, runs, runs. WOW! Back at the allergic reaction again, only this time there were some stark differences. Emergency run to the hospital, short/shallow breathing, blood pressure almost non-existent, getting slapped in the fact by the wife of the 2nd counselor of the Temple presidency doesn’t sound like much fun. I wasn’t really aware of any of this but Sister Byram (wife of 2nd Counselor) is an RN and as I was fading out, she wasn’t going to have me do so on her watch. Pres Byram, Sis Byram, Shanua and one of the security guards had to escort me to the Chong Hua (Chong Wa) Hospital for another round of Antiphalntic Shock. This time they started an IV but gave me an oral antihistamine and over the counter dosage of Benadryl to stop the allergic reaction. The welts got bigger the itch got worse but at least I could breath and understand what was going on around me to a moderate degree. For two days this went on. Boy I sure was glad to check out of this place.

Check in: they give you a Hospitality Bag containing 1 small bar of soap, 1 short roll of TP, 1 TV Remote, one fork & one soup spoon wrapped in your wash cloth and two pass’ for people you would like to have stay with you overnight. The room contents, besides the bed, was: one pillow, 2 sheets, one pillow case, one plastic patio type chair, one bench that doubles as a bed for your overnight guest, one dipping pan (more on this later), a Comfort Room (CR) with toilet, shower and sink. Did I mention this was the deluxe single room? Notably missing was the hospital gown, towels, drinking water, glass. Did I also mention the initial issue of Fork & Spoon was your only issue of such items, Meals arrived without them? Oh there was a telephone in the room also.

Now going on from here it only gets more interesting. As the itching continued fiercely and everyone telling you not to scratch as you are going insane trying not to but there is no relief in sight. The nurse suggested trying a hot or cold compress to see if that will stop the itching. Anything is better than digging our skin off. She leaves and comes back in with a 4” diameter “can” full of hot water about 3” deep to dip my wash cloth in, wring out and lay over my itching that has not progressed to cover pretty much from my knee’s to my head. I told her I could just get in the shower and take a hot shower to do a better job of that. To which she stated she could go and get me some hot water to shower with. This would entail bringing some kind of bucket full of hot water. It is now later, by using the dipping pan I could pour the hot water over me from the container to bath with. Otherwise I could just use the cold water straight from the tap. Here again this is tap water which is rarely ever really what you would call cold but rather cool, and even this is not accurate but it is not warm.

In all fairness the nursing staff was very attentive. They made their rounds almost hourly and if we call for anything they were right there to check on things. They conveyed all information directly to the Dr.s. Dr. Tan was my “Dr.” but a Dr. Michael was Dr Tan’s associate who can in about three times. Working for Dr. Tan was also an internist who visited every 3-4 hours as well. They were right on time to administer all medicines. Finally after complaining about the incessant itching the internist came in an add something to the IV that was dripping and the itching finally subsided so that I could get some sleep during the night.

Shauna in the mean time was relegated to sleep on the bench which she side was softer than our bet at the apartment, which she is constantly complaining about being so hard. Although without proper pillow(s) she had a bad night plus fell off the bench at one point during the night. Needless to say we were both very thankful to be back at the apartment after a 3 hour marathon checking out.

Shauna had to wait for the Dr.s bill at the same time as the hospital bill. When they presented the Dr. Bill to her she thought it was the hospital bill and thought we were getting off really cheap. It was only P3.800. But at closer look found out it was just the dress bill. The hospital bill was P13,000+ so they came together over P17,500 which either had to be paid in cash or by credit card. They don’t bill insurance’s. For those of you who are Paso challenged it is just a little over $400, for my one night 2 day stay at the hospital, including medications and can of hot water. What caused this – we are not too sure but the Dr. seems to think it might have been some bad chicken. NOT necessarily the way it was cooked, but could have been but how it was handled, which is more likely. This was our Sunday dinner we are talking about of grilled boneless & skinless Chicken breast with mashed potatoes and gravy and beets. The Dr. advised eating no more Chicken, sea food of any kind (shelled or otherwise), no pineapple, mangos or egg plant or eggs. Seafood and egg plant are the only things here that is no problem, the rest are all favorites. Now a real sacrifice, or at least until we get home that is. Which, as of this writing is only 120 days away. Love to all of you.