On The Mend, On An Island

So… the first half this trip has been C-H-A-L-L-E-N-G-I-N-G.

My situation did not improve after 48 hours and I went from just feeling generally ill to a full-blown flu-like nightmare. It was just your classic nasty upper respiratory bug: feverish feeling, post-nasal drip, runny nose, chills, and finally a truly nasty cough that kept Ariel and I up all night. So by Sunday I was frantically seeking some medical assistance.

Turns out in Aruba, that’s not very difficult at all. We had driven by a clinic on the way to where we are staying so I knew I wasn’t far, but there was no way I was walking 30-45 minutes or so each way in the condition I was in. So I called the front desk to ask about a taxi. And I was given the not great news… the nearest clinic was closed on Sundays. Not great.

But!

Would I be interested in having a doctor come do an exam at the hotel? In my room?

Of course I said yes. And for $250 I had a doctor show up WITHIN AN HOUR. He checked temperature (about 100 even after taking Advil), my breathing (ok but some congestion for sure), my heartrate (elevated), and so on and so forth. He diagnosed me with bronchitis and prescribed some antibiotics, cough medicine, Afrin, an antihistamine and codeine as a cough suppressant. The last two also were to knock me out at night and boy did they do the trick.

There was even a delivery service for the drugs, but it wasn’t working on Sunday. And the pharmacy that was closest was also closed so I still needed a taxi to take me.

The taxi dropped me off, waited for over 20 minutes to get my various items, and then drove me back but did not charge for the waiting time.

I don’t know if they do this for everyone, or just for tourists, but what an amazing system.

Look I’m the last guy to bash the country I live in when compared to other places. Everywhere you go has pluses and minuses. But is there even a service for house visits from doctors in America at all? Like even for rich people?

Anyway, that’s a major digression. So after starting up on the various medications I started feeling better after a couple of days. I was able to muster up the energy to pick up our rental car, get some groceries, and drag myself to our dinner reservations. But for the most part, Ariel and the kids have been on a parallel trip to me. As soon as I realized what was going on my only priority on this trip became to not infect anyone else, so I’ve been in semi-isolation for much of each day since we got here. We HAVE been together at various times, but mostly I’ve been sleeping in the afternoons and in bed until late in the morning. Just a miserable experience.

Having the car was a big help because I can always drive, even when I’m in bad shape. So we did get to see some sights even when I was feeling pretty weak.

It’s amazing though what some basic medical care can do for you, though.

Today was the first day I started feeling like myself and we were able to get out and really see the island. Tomorrow I’m finally going to be able to spend some serious time at the beach and pool for the first time since we got here. And then Friday we fly home. Them’s the breaks!