Well…I am back. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything positive to write about for quite a while and had written the following, but had decided not to post it until we returned to the USA. I am now at a place and time in our lives where I can resume my Blog. It has been a difficult couple of months, but we are dealing with things and are trying to move forward. To that end, I decided to post where the trouble started…back in December…
“What’s the deal with me spending so much more time in Hiranandani Hospitals…two different ones…than anywhere else lately? There has been a rash of illness and injury that has besieged our little group in the last month or so since moving into our apartments. Some, I think, is most probably due in part to our new location and the conditions here.
My first experience with the hospital was taking a friend who was in excruciating pain in her lower back to the hospital. She had been there the day before on an emergency room visit and they gave her medicine that should have stopped some of the pain; however, it didn’t touch it. So, I assured her husband that I would be happy to accompany her there the next morning to see the doctor again. She ended up having an MRI of her spine and was admitted to the hospital. Her only option was surgery and she was absolutely not able to be flown back to Korea, her home, for treatment so they decided to have surgery done here. She managed well through the surgery and is recovering.
Not long after that amoebic dysentery began and raced through our ranks like a small raging fire. I don’t know what the total number is of those who got it, but I was one of the fortunate ones…so far, but my husband was not. He was the first to be admitted to the hospital out of the group for treatment for it. He spent three days and two nights in the hospital with IV’s pouring very strong antibiotics and fluids into his body. It was a frightening time with the doctor who first saw him at our apartment believing that he was bleeding internally. The doctor called for an ambulance and I rode with him in the back along with two ambulance personnel. If you remember in my post about Mumbai traffic, I think I may have mentioned that I never wanted to be in the back of an ambulance here in Mumbai as I didn’t think you could make it to the hospital in good shape. Well, I now have a firsthand account of what happens and it is not a good one. They are basically a transport service with no medical treatment en route and the back portion where the patient is, and I was, is no more than a tin box. Very crude compared to ambulances in the USA. We chose to go to the closer of the two Hiranandani Hospitals even though we knew the further one was better. In Tom’s condition he would not have been comfortable on a one to two hour ride across the crowded city. I can’t even imagine!
After getting Tom in the back of the ambulance while on a stretcher…interesting to watch…and rather frightening too when they couldn’t get the back doors latched…we headed out! We left the apartment complex through the back gate and I had no idea where we were or where we were going except that it was to the hospital. I was being bounced around on metal side benches with my head repeatedly being banged by something large hanging on the side of the van. I moved the best I could to avoid any damage to my own head. They put an oxygen mask on Tom and that was it. No IV started before we left…nothing. They said they couldn’t put an IV in en route and I was very thankful for that as we were hitting every pothole there was…and there are many. Cars, motorcycles and tuk-tuks were trying to squeeze in front of us even with our siren on. No one would yield to us. I would really not want to be having any kind of cardiac problem and have to be in an ambulance here. I bet the odds are against you in that event! We finally made it to the hospital in about 20 minutes and they took Tom right in to the Emergency Department and they started taking care of him. We were both happy that ride was over!
A wonderful couple we’ve become friends with met us at the hospital and stayed with me for support until late that first evening when Tom was settled into his room and the rest of us could go back to our apartments. It was a rather frightening ordeal to say the least.
A week before Tom was struck down by the parasites, he was working at his desk when there was a malfunction of something involving the fire alarm system at work and he suffered acute severe sudden noise trauma to both ears. He immediately was disoriented, would lose his balance and caused a severe headache. These symptoms continue to get worse. This has resulted in the company placing him on Workers Compensation and they are sending him back to the United States for further evaluation and any treatment that may be available for him.
Meanwhile, I have visited my friend who had the spinal surgery when she was in the hospital, accompanied yet another friend several times for a very strange malady and continue to go with my husband for his repeat visits. I had hoped I wouldn’t see the inside of a hospital here, but it seems that is all I am doing lately. I wouldn’t be anywhere else than with my husband and my friends though. If they have to be there, I’ll be there with them.”
To bring you up to date, we are now safely back in the USA, in our home state of Washington where Tom has been seen by a specialist and has been diagnosed with a marked loss of hearing, damaged hearing aids, tinnitus, and an irreparably damaged gyroscope (the thing that controls balance) in his right ear. He was also evaluated by Winni, a tiny but spunky little Physical Therapist who is awesome with her handling of my tough old bird! He will be undergoing therapy for eight to twelve weeks in the hopes of training his body to compensate for the loss of balance that he suffered. We are hoping and praying for the best results possible.
Our time in India is now over. Tom’s company has released him from the project he was on because of the length of time required for his possible rehabilitation and the fact that there is no way to know if it will even help him. It is in God’s hands now…although my Sweetheart must do everything he can to cooperate with Winni to get the maximum benefit from her services. This has been quite a ride and we aren’t through yet! I am hoping I can be back to writing more positive posts…and I’m sure our adventures will continue in some form or fashion.
Here is my Sweetheart after a therapy session. He is wiped out and is VERY dizzy! It always brings on a raging headache as well. It is difficult to go through, but I know he will do his best and hopefully can regain some of his lost balance. I believe in the power of prayer…