As many of you may be aware, I have been sick the last 3 weeks or so with some mysterious stomach infection. Today was actually my first day off the medicine and overall it went pretty good. I have felt a little bit of pain now and then today but for the most part I felt pretty decent.
Having an infected stomach sucks. I couldnt eat much so no going out to eat. I certainly couldnt drink, and I didnt have the energy to jam with Andrew, learn chinese, nor work out or play any sports. So pretty much, this stomach problem has kept me from doing about 85 percent of the things that I would normally do with my free time.
As a result of being a beached whale, I have had the opportnity to watch alot of television, something I havent really taken full advantage of since we got cable about 2 months ago. I have discovered that we get some pretty decent channels in English. We get CNN, Animal planet, about 5 movie channels, maybe four sports channels and even MTV.
The movies arent bad as in the past 3 weeks I have seen some great movies such as Casino, Donnie Brasco, Con Air, Jarhead, The Adams Family, Spiderman, Friday Night Lights, Coach Carter, Collateral Damage, Junior (Arnold Schwartzenager gets pregnant = halarious) Mission Impossible 2, as well as my favorite obscure dose of nostalgia Sunset Park. And I assure you I have seen alot more movies this month than I presently cant remember and list.
The sports channels arent bad either. There is always a healthy dose of NBA basketball and MLB baseball. I even got to see two Blue Jay games and a Raptor game which was quite the treat. No hockey on TV though, most likely becuase there are no Asian players in the NHL unlike the NBA and MLB. If all else fails there is always 9 ball on tv which is exciting for about 5 minutes. Additionally commercials here are quite the laugh. They are extremely overacted and cheesy. When i get my camera back from being fixed (tommorow) I might post some videos of them somewhere for your enjoyment.
There you have it. Just goes to show how dominant of a language it is that we speak. Despite the numerous languages spoken around the world, English is accessable here in Taiwan, on the other side of the world. Not Russian, not German, but English.
Going for my blood test tommorow to see how effective the antibiotics were. Hopefully I get some good news and will be able to give the TV a rest for a while. Ill obviosuly keep you posted.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
In Limbo
So I returned to the hospital on Tuesday, not sure what to hope for in terms of whether they found anything in my blood or not. I went to work the day before. It was hard to get through but I managed.
It was actually really interesting how my coworkers delt with me. Last I checked this illness has caused me to lose about 3-4 KG which is about 6-8 pounds. My face obviosuly looks thinner. Most of my coworkers politly asked me how I was feeling but generally everyone was very respectfull of my privacy, not needing to know all the details of exactly what was wrong. Also no one was oversympathetic making a gigantic deal out of things. At the end of my shift my Manager approached me and asked if it was OK if my boss came with me to the hospital the next day. I felt like they were more concerned about themselves in terms of whether i would be able to work or not as opposed to wanting to help me. These are the kinds of people my bosses are. When I was calling in sick they were always asking me "why" and reminding me i only had 7 sick days as opposed to telling me to feel better or anything. Real nice people. I cant wait to quit. Anyway, after thinking about it I realized it could do no harm. If anything, having a Chinese speaker with me at the hospital would me mutually benefitial, so I agreed.
The next day i went back to the hospital and waited for the big news. Turns out they didnt isolate any bacteria from my blood. So basically they dont know why I had an infection and why there was so much unusual inflamation in my stomach. They gave me 5 more days of antibiotics and told me to come back in a week to do another blood test to see if the antibiotics worked.
So now i am kind of in limbo or purgatory. I am taking my antibiotics and I feel decent enough. I can work, I can run errands, but i still dont feel like going out and having fun. I am probably not going to go on the white water rafting trip I was going to do this weekend. All i can really do is wait these 5 days and then see what happens. Either i get better, or the pain will return. If i get better that'll be great. If not then it poses some very serious questions about what I will do next. Keep your fingers crossed....
It was actually really interesting how my coworkers delt with me. Last I checked this illness has caused me to lose about 3-4 KG which is about 6-8 pounds. My face obviosuly looks thinner. Most of my coworkers politly asked me how I was feeling but generally everyone was very respectfull of my privacy, not needing to know all the details of exactly what was wrong. Also no one was oversympathetic making a gigantic deal out of things. At the end of my shift my Manager approached me and asked if it was OK if my boss came with me to the hospital the next day. I felt like they were more concerned about themselves in terms of whether i would be able to work or not as opposed to wanting to help me. These are the kinds of people my bosses are. When I was calling in sick they were always asking me "why" and reminding me i only had 7 sick days as opposed to telling me to feel better or anything. Real nice people. I cant wait to quit. Anyway, after thinking about it I realized it could do no harm. If anything, having a Chinese speaker with me at the hospital would me mutually benefitial, so I agreed.
The next day i went back to the hospital and waited for the big news. Turns out they didnt isolate any bacteria from my blood. So basically they dont know why I had an infection and why there was so much unusual inflamation in my stomach. They gave me 5 more days of antibiotics and told me to come back in a week to do another blood test to see if the antibiotics worked.
So now i am kind of in limbo or purgatory. I am taking my antibiotics and I feel decent enough. I can work, I can run errands, but i still dont feel like going out and having fun. I am probably not going to go on the white water rafting trip I was going to do this weekend. All i can really do is wait these 5 days and then see what happens. Either i get better, or the pain will return. If i get better that'll be great. If not then it poses some very serious questions about what I will do next. Keep your fingers crossed....
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Stomach pain
Greetings from the hospital! As you may have guessed this stomach pain has not subsided. After i finished my third round of pills the pain came back. I went to see the doctor who gave me more pills. Additionally Polina's dad who is a doctor was in town visiting. He paid me a special visit and was very thourough. His prognosis was that if the hospital origingally didnt find anything in the blood or urine that it should clear itself out. If no success in 3-4 days go back to the hospital. As you may have been able to guess, it didnt go away and the pills are no longer as effective as they once were.
One would think that going to a hospital that was operational in Chinese would be a nightmare. To be honest its really not that bad. The doctors and even nurses speak English fairly well, and the receptionests/other people who work here are very friendly in helping me find my way around to the various places i have to go for testing.
To top it off i had an ultrasound of my kidneys, a blood test, an x ray, and a urine test done with results given to me within an hour. I didnt even have time to figure out the Sudoku puzzle i brought with me.
The prognoses in the kidney was good. No problems there. But the blood test showed a high white cell count which means there is probably some infection going on somewhere. I am currently waiting for a gastrologist to check me out. He starts in 10 minutes and I am number 22 in line. Hopefully he can figure out whats wrong with me so I can get back to work and get on with my life. At least ill have more than enough time to figure out this sudoku puzzle. Hopefully an update with a good bill of health is on the way soon
One would think that going to a hospital that was operational in Chinese would be a nightmare. To be honest its really not that bad. The doctors and even nurses speak English fairly well, and the receptionests/other people who work here are very friendly in helping me find my way around to the various places i have to go for testing.
To top it off i had an ultrasound of my kidneys, a blood test, an x ray, and a urine test done with results given to me within an hour. I didnt even have time to figure out the Sudoku puzzle i brought with me.
The prognoses in the kidney was good. No problems there. But the blood test showed a high white cell count which means there is probably some infection going on somewhere. I am currently waiting for a gastrologist to check me out. He starts in 10 minutes and I am number 22 in line. Hopefully he can figure out whats wrong with me so I can get back to work and get on with my life. At least ill have more than enough time to figure out this sudoku puzzle. Hopefully an update with a good bill of health is on the way soon
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Madame Cleo is full of shit...right?
First off a continuation to the last post. The very day after I talked about how you get so much attention here, I had no less than three people approach me trying to be my friend. One of these relationships may actually be quite useful, as the man runs a restaurant and has sworn to feed me for free so long as I speak english with him while I eat. Not a bad deal at all. Last weekend we watched baseball on TV and i took the opportunity to teach him the names of the bases. Its a friendship I might get used to. He has also asked if I want to be his friend and go see a baseball game with him in Taiwan. We'll see about that one.
Anyway one of my favorite people here Tammy has a roommate. One friday night we were hanging out and drinking some wine when I discovered that her roommate is into terrot cards. Smelling the bullshit and an opportunity to ammuse myself I asked her if she would kindly read my fortunes. I had her look at the time I would be spending in Taiwan month by month.
Nothing too intense, this is my FUTURE im messing around with.
Overall the cards looked good, but for the month of April she warned me of "great anxiety and worries that were out of my control" I didnt think twice about any of it, but April sure made a fool of me. It was a Saturday. I had to work at 10 O clock until noon. Usually I need a good 25 minutes to get to work by scooter. I WOKE UP (not left my house but woke up) 20 minutes before I had to be there. I simply accepted the fact that I would be late, and stuffed everything i could into my pockets including two pieces of bread to eat at red lights. I managed to get to work one minute early and was all excited to write a short post about it. I even had a name. It would be called "The miracle on concrete." Unfortuneately, my good spririts were extinguished when i realized I had lost my Ipod. It wasnt in my house nor at my work. The conclusion that I have reached is that it must have fallen out of the pockets of the new pants I had purchased earlier that week while I was eating my breakfast (the two pieces of bread) at a red light.
Before i had a chance to get upset about my Ipod my stomach started to hurt. I cursed my new friend, the beef noodle man, whose restaurant I had eaten at for free earlier that day in exchange for english conversation. The pain worsened and worsened throughout the night. It got so bad that i couldnt sleep and went to the hospital the next day fearing an appendicitus. I got blood tests urine tests and x rays done within 30 minutes. After waiting maybe another hour and a half tops, the doctors came to see me. Thankfully i did not have an appendicitus. They did however say that the x-rays showed a heavy inflamation of the intestines. The supposed culprit? Gas. They gave me some pills and I went home although I didnt feel much better. I had no appetite and anything I tried to eat would be thrown up 2 hours later. I was so uncomfortable, that I couldnt sit still nor lie down. The only place that was somewhat ok was lying down in the shower. I think I took 5 showers that night.
On a side note, the hospitals here are extremely quick and efficient. I was being x rayed and having blood taken within a half hour of arrival, and was in the hospital no longer than 2 and a half total hours.
As I took the pills my stomach got better but when they ran out the pain came back. I went to see a doctor. His medical exam consisted of him pressing down on different parts of my stomach. He finally found one that made me yell out in pain. His prognoses: "It seems to be some kind of stomach infection." No tests or anything. He claimed that stomach infections are complicated and poorly understood. He gave me some pills including an antibacterial one and they seemed to be working. Unfortuneately I felt bad enough to cancel the surfing plans I had for the special 4 day weekend of tomb sweeping. I took the time off, laid low, and now actually feel better enough to eat. I just finished the medicine so hopefully this wierd stomach ailment will not return.
Things have gotten slightly better since then as the sopranos is back, I may have a new private student, and I am substitute teaching at many differet schools in the morning and afternoon to make extra tax-free money, and hopefully land a job at a better school. I also am getting better at teaching and have tamed my biggest asshole class of 13 year olds. They are actually becoming my favorites as they take every chance to chirp at each other. For example the studnets may be given four pictures and told to write a story about them. To my amusement the smartest kids make fun of each other and the content usually involves other kids being poor. smelling like garbage, their houses burning down, and love triangles between the kids in the class. They are great.
Well thankfully the anxieties and worries of April seem to be over (knock on wood). I cant wait untill May, the month in which the cards have promised me LUST!
Anyway one of my favorite people here Tammy has a roommate. One friday night we were hanging out and drinking some wine when I discovered that her roommate is into terrot cards. Smelling the bullshit and an opportunity to ammuse myself I asked her if she would kindly read my fortunes. I had her look at the time I would be spending in Taiwan month by month.
Nothing too intense, this is my FUTURE im messing around with.
Overall the cards looked good, but for the month of April she warned me of "great anxiety and worries that were out of my control" I didnt think twice about any of it, but April sure made a fool of me. It was a Saturday. I had to work at 10 O clock until noon. Usually I need a good 25 minutes to get to work by scooter. I WOKE UP (not left my house but woke up) 20 minutes before I had to be there. I simply accepted the fact that I would be late, and stuffed everything i could into my pockets including two pieces of bread to eat at red lights. I managed to get to work one minute early and was all excited to write a short post about it. I even had a name. It would be called "The miracle on concrete." Unfortuneately, my good spririts were extinguished when i realized I had lost my Ipod. It wasnt in my house nor at my work. The conclusion that I have reached is that it must have fallen out of the pockets of the new pants I had purchased earlier that week while I was eating my breakfast (the two pieces of bread) at a red light.
Before i had a chance to get upset about my Ipod my stomach started to hurt. I cursed my new friend, the beef noodle man, whose restaurant I had eaten at for free earlier that day in exchange for english conversation. The pain worsened and worsened throughout the night. It got so bad that i couldnt sleep and went to the hospital the next day fearing an appendicitus. I got blood tests urine tests and x rays done within 30 minutes. After waiting maybe another hour and a half tops, the doctors came to see me. Thankfully i did not have an appendicitus. They did however say that the x-rays showed a heavy inflamation of the intestines. The supposed culprit? Gas. They gave me some pills and I went home although I didnt feel much better. I had no appetite and anything I tried to eat would be thrown up 2 hours later. I was so uncomfortable, that I couldnt sit still nor lie down. The only place that was somewhat ok was lying down in the shower. I think I took 5 showers that night.
On a side note, the hospitals here are extremely quick and efficient. I was being x rayed and having blood taken within a half hour of arrival, and was in the hospital no longer than 2 and a half total hours.
As I took the pills my stomach got better but when they ran out the pain came back. I went to see a doctor. His medical exam consisted of him pressing down on different parts of my stomach. He finally found one that made me yell out in pain. His prognoses: "It seems to be some kind of stomach infection." No tests or anything. He claimed that stomach infections are complicated and poorly understood. He gave me some pills including an antibacterial one and they seemed to be working. Unfortuneately I felt bad enough to cancel the surfing plans I had for the special 4 day weekend of tomb sweeping. I took the time off, laid low, and now actually feel better enough to eat. I just finished the medicine so hopefully this wierd stomach ailment will not return.
Things have gotten slightly better since then as the sopranos is back, I may have a new private student, and I am substitute teaching at many differet schools in the morning and afternoon to make extra tax-free money, and hopefully land a job at a better school. I also am getting better at teaching and have tamed my biggest asshole class of 13 year olds. They are actually becoming my favorites as they take every chance to chirp at each other. For example the studnets may be given four pictures and told to write a story about them. To my amusement the smartest kids make fun of each other and the content usually involves other kids being poor. smelling like garbage, their houses burning down, and love triangles between the kids in the class. They are great.
Well thankfully the anxieties and worries of April seem to be over (knock on wood). I cant wait untill May, the month in which the cards have promised me LUST!
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