A Bump in the Road

It’s been a rough week. On day 4 of my antibiotics, it was clear that my respiratory infection was worsening. The congestion had moved deeper into my lungs and I was coughing so hard that I strained a muscle on my side. So I went back to the ER planning to get a different antibiotic as that is what the ER doctor had advised. This time I got a different doctor who did an X-ray, ekg, and blood work. I was given steroids IV and bronchodilators by face mask but she refused to change the antibiotics. This time the diagnosis was worsening bronchitis with bronchospasm. My blood work showed a high inflammatory level. Now I have an Atrovent puffer and an unusual medication to help me clear my lungs easier. I haven’t taken it because I have concerns from my research. Today I feel things are improving somewhat but the harsh cough persists. It’s been so nice out that one day I walked around town and picked up more ingredients for homemade soup as that is all we’ve been eating this week

John too hasn’t had a good week. He’s been in bed more than he’s been upright and wouldn’t leave the house. He doesn’t have any signs of infection but has the same nasty cough and is very lethargic. I tried to tell him that lying in bed was the worst thing he could do for his lungs but this is how he handles illness normally. He was always complaining of being cold even though we had the heat on and he wasn’t feverish. So on my way home from the hospital I stopped at the large shopping mall which was across the street from the hospital. I needed to go to the Farmacia there anyway. I was able to find him a puffy vest at Zara even though I was annoyed that the one I bought him was at home because he refused to pack it! The doctor told me that this has hit us hard because there are different viruses here than at home.

They mustn’t pay health care employees very well here. The ekg cost €6,50 and the X-ray €5,00, about $18 for both tests. My total bill for both visits was $460. I can only imagine how much that would have cost in Canada! Everyone was so kind in the ER, including the other patients. I had some of them come to me to wish me well. On my way out one of the patient’s daughter warned me “frio” (cold) and motioned to me to zip my jacket and put my hood up! It was kinda cute because she was much younger than me.

I’m hoping that once we get to Southern Portugal the humidity won’t be as high (75-80% here). Warm and dry would be ideal. The hardest part has been missing the 3 days of beautiful sunny weather with a temperature of 18. Winter is generally cooler with lots of rain so this week would have been perfect to explore the island, of which we have seen none.

Tomorrow is going to be a better day!Read more