Sunday morning before church

Yesterday was a memorable day.

Here's some real life math. Guess what cost me 1079 BAHTS and took only 35 minutes to do? Give up? A trip to the hospital in Bangkok (which also serves like a type of walk in clinic) to find out that I do not have ant bites, I must have gotten bitten by the paederus bug in the Phuket area, and the effects didn't show up until here. The amazing thing is that I received excellent care about 5 minutes away from the Lutheran Hour center here, and received 5 different medications/cleaning ointments for a total of $33 American dollars. That includes the hospital fee, doctor, and all medicines.

The bites were really bothering me yesterday morning so I wore a loose fitting dress instead of pants to the seminar. That made my bites visible to people. Dennis, the wife of Lutheran Hour's Journey into Light director, Boom, suggested that I go to the hospital and have it checked. At first I thought of it like going to the emergency room, but he and others assured me that it was not like that here in Bangkok and that it would not cost much.

Three men from the Lutheran Hour took me in a car to the hospital. Upon arriving, the receptionist took my basic information along with passport number, and then sent us up to the second floor. Within minutes a lady directed us into a room to see a female doctor. She took one look at my legs and got out a dermatology book and went right to the bug and right to pictures of skin that looked like mine. She said it was very common in Thailand. She started telling me what she was going to give me and how I had to treat the areas that were affected. The funny part of all this was all the translating going on between the three men who were with me in the doctor's room, the doctor, and me. I now refer to these three men as my flesh and blood hospital angels. They were so concerned that they heard all of the doctor's instructions and that I in turn, understood what she was telling me to do.

One part that we had to go over a number of times was the water issue. The water is not safe to drink here, so everything we do uses bottled water. We even brush our teeth with it. I am not supposed to take a shower and let water, or dirty water run over these areas, because they are now starting to ooze, for lack of a better word. I am supposed to take like a sponge bath and I have to stop swimming in the pools. The past two days, since I woke up early in the morning, I have gone swimming in the hotel pool before the seminar. Now that these spots on my leg are opening up, I have to keep them clean.

Next step was going to the hospital pharmacy which was right next to this doctor's office. Once again, my three "angels" worked hard to make sure the pharmacist told them what to do, they told me, I repeated it back again, and the pharmacist confirmed it. It would have been a sight to see if it had been videotaped! I paid the 1079 BAHTS ($33) with my Visa card (don't leave home without it) and left with my bag of 5 things and we came back to the seminar location.

The men had written down the instructions in Thai, then after the seminar was over, Boom, translated it again to me while my nurse friend Carol sat nearby to make sure I know what to do. Basically I have a saline solution that I have to clean the areas with twice a day. Then I had some type of scrub that I had to use yesterday on it, but it was only a one time thing. Carol said they use that before a surgery to clean the area. Then twice a day I have ointment to apply to the areas. While it is still a rash, I have one thing to put on it. When it opens up and is a wound, I have a different ointment to use. The doctor gave me an antihistamine to take once each morning, but it is the exact same thing as the Clarinex I have been taking since I got the bites. My allergist sent me to Thailand with a daily supply of it already.

Well, that is my hospital experience. The seminar yesterday was such a blessing, but I will have to talk about that later. I need to go upstairs and clean up my body - which is more of a challenge now.

One more thing I will tell you. My friend Carol who has gone on many mission trips decribes the difference between a vacation and a trip like ours this way: When you take a vacation, you go through the land. When you do a mission trip like this, the land goes through you. That has definitely happened to me. My life in Christ will never be the same and these people I have been with at the seminar these past three days have made a lasting impression in my heart. I am bringing back with me some precious memories and gifts that they have given me. May God continue to bless us all - you all at home and the people here.

Diana