Sick in Guatemala!

We came here for a full month as a pilot, a sort of trial to see if we could really live in another country for an extended period of time and keep up with our business back home. Part of living somewhere is knowing how to deal with the daily challenges that come your way.

Luckily, my body was on the same page and thought it would throw a sinus infection at us early on to see how we handle it!

The exact causes leading up to the infection are debatable - if you read earlier posts, you understand that we had a little war going on here with the local insect population, so there was an increase in the usage of Off, and the accompanying fumes.

In addition, we are staying in a place that is 5,000 feet up and several days this week we had some low-lying storms to where the clouds seemed right at our level. Perhaps the climate/pressure changes?

At any rate, my usual mucinex/benedryl cocktail did nothing to address the congestion that developed two days ago and I knew from past experience that a sinus infection was inevitable. We called the UCD on-call doctor (who was very excited to have received a call from Guatemala that day) and she told us about a few good options for anitbiotics.

So, Ken headed down to the dock to catch a boat to the nearest town with a good farmacia (San Pedro.) I debated going with him, but when the energy it took to get ready hit me with an intense desire to go back to bed, I realized that was pure folly.

About 45 minutes after he left, a decent storm came in and I couldn't even see the other side of the lake. I was a little concerned, but tried to remember that the boatmen out here do this every day, through much worse.

Ken called from San Pedro in fact, and wasn't even seeing the same level of rain there. Apparently the storm was mighty, but small. He called and let me know he was stepping on to the return boat and would be here soon.

I heard the boat pull up and heard Ken laughing with a couple people down at the dock. He connected with another developer from California and they plan to get together for a beer to talk shop! What a small world. He also enjoy riding on the boat with a young Guatemalan girl and her abuelita, showing them pictures of our kitten Osa from home.

He came in the door victorious - not only was he able to get a "Z-Pack,"(azithromiacin) it was available over the counter and in double the dose you can get at home.

Lucky for me, he also picked up good 'ole Kleenex - soft and without the perfumes they add to paper products here! I don't think I've ever been so happy to see tissue.

I decided to split the doses up to the levels I take in the US, and took my second dose today. I'm not rid of it, but feeling much better. The weather even cooperated with rain all day so I didn't feel so bad for laying around and sleeping and reading.

Speaking of reading, I started reading a new genre of books yesterday that may be of interest to some folks out there. I am not usually a sci-fi reader, but this series has been really good! I read the first one yesterday, Wool, by Hugh Howie. Today I am finishing up the second called, "Shift." There is a third I will likely start as soon as I finish. It's kinda cool that the guy is an indie publisher - his books have been published online and are just about to be published in print. Here's a link to more about him: http://www.amazon.com/Hugh-Howey/e/B002RX4S5Q/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

So, all in all, having a sinus infection here is honestly a little easier than having one back home. I didn't have to make an appointment to go see a "primary care" doctor, or because it was Saturday, go to a clinic. Ken was able to get what I needed pretty easily. And laying around with a view of a beautiful lake watching a storm (what we like to call weather tv) beats anything on the tube back home.

Hope this infection clears soon so I have more exciting stuff to share!