Illness Abroad

Being sick abroad is awful. Basically it sucks. If you are sick at your home in the United States at least then you can curl up on the couch, maybe wearing that Snuggie you do not want to admit you have, and be able to watch crappy TV all day and eat Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup with Stars. No one questions your judgment in watching shows on TLC all day or something from WE about weddings or something from FoxNews involving Glen Beck. You're sick, you can get away with that. Unfortunately, abroad you do not have those options available to you. (Oddly, out of the 1833 satellite stations available at my house, FoxNews is not one of them. That station would probably do well here.)

When you get sick abroad basically the first thing you hope for is that you will get well soon enough that you do not have to go to the doctor's or have to take medicine in packaging where English is absent. Or have to take something that the pharmacist must mime to you how to take because of the language barrier. (I personally hope not to go to the doctor's in the United States as well. Growing up by the Mayo Clinic I grew accustom to a certain level of health care that exists few places in the world. Consequently, I expect a lot. But the Zion Canyon Medical Clinic never let me down when I lived in Springdale.)

Since my arrival I've struggled a lot with the food. (However, increasingly I think it may be food allergies). I've had food poisoning several times since I arrived, most recently 2 days ago. Long story short, it was bad and I am still not fully recovered from it. The 1 hour car ride from the mountain village over very bumpy roads made it an even more enjoyable experience. During the ride back with my host family my mantra was "I will not disgrace myself in the Mercedes Benz SUV with the leather seats." I made it back to Batumi...barely. Thankfully the family business was on the way home so that I could get sick there and not in the car.

Unfortunately, most of my friends of had to deal with the same thing as well and we all seem to have the exact same symtoms when we do get ill. Fortunately, my host mother is a doctor and helped me out considerably. It was curious the combination of homeopathic and medical remedies she gave me, however. But whatever it was that she had me do, it worked. I feel as thought I will live another day. 48 hours ago it did not seem that way. At one point she took my temperature with a mercury thermometer. I think the last time I saw that done was in th 1980s. Guess who is getting a diagital thermometer as her Christmas present when I return from the United States?

I came to Georgia thinking I was pretty much immune to food bourne illnesses after my two months in the Middle East. In Israel only once did I have a problem with the food. It was some awful falafel from the West Bank. Sometimes I wonder what the Israeli reaction to this would be. I should have known that falafel with a Coke for only 7 shekels was too good to be true. Consequently, I arrived with just one box of Immodium thinking that I would never need it. It is almost gone. Ironically, I still had my box of Immodium from Israel at my house this summer. I was doing some cleaning and threw it out thinking that I was not going overseas anytime soon and I would not need it for anything before it expired. The next week I found out I was headed to Georgia. Lesson learned: Throwing out a key item from the traveler's first aid kit will result in moving overseas.