We fully intended to go to some churches and museums in Cusco. This wasn´t going to be another of those cities that we spent a week in without seeing the cultural sights. Well the fates were against us this time. We did spend a week in Cusco and only went to one church and museum :(
Bek had been complaining of a pain in her esophagus for a while and then after a miserable day with a fever and an inability to eat due to pain we decided to call a doctor.
One thing cascaded into another and before we knew it Bek was in the hospital on IV meds!!! A blood test had revealed that Bek had an infection of Typhoid that was off the charts!!!
The following day an endoscopy revealed a pretty big ulcer in her esophagus. Add to that a common cold and Bek was in a right miserable state... So 2 days in the hospital and a few more days in a hotel recovering and Bek could start to eat soft foods and walk around. Thankfully recovery has been steady and Bek is looking and feeling much better (a loss of 10 to 15 lbs leads to a nice bikini body :). But needless to say we were ready to get out of Cusco! We will leave the churches and museums to all the other tourists.
The hospital stay did give us a good opportunity to evaluate the Peruvian hospital system. Here are a few observations:
It was an overall memorable experience and one that we hope to never repeat.
Bek had been complaining of a pain in her esophagus for a while and then after a miserable day with a fever and an inability to eat due to pain we decided to call a doctor.
One thing cascaded into another and before we knew it Bek was in the hospital on IV meds!!! A blood test had revealed that Bek had an infection of Typhoid that was off the charts!!!
The following day an endoscopy revealed a pretty big ulcer in her esophagus. Add to that a common cold and Bek was in a right miserable state... So 2 days in the hospital and a few more days in a hotel recovering and Bek could start to eat soft foods and walk around. Thankfully recovery has been steady and Bek is looking and feeling much better (a loss of 10 to 15 lbs leads to a nice bikini body :). But needless to say we were ready to get out of Cusco! We will leave the churches and museums to all the other tourists.
The hospital stay did give us a good opportunity to evaluate the Peruvian hospital system. Here are a few observations:
- Gloves were not as commonly used as one would hope. But Bek´s nurses did use them on occasion, to tie around her arm in order to get a vein for the blood draw and IV but not on their own hands as they worked!
- The only people wearing gloves - the women who came around twice a day to clean the trash and make the beds.
- They are not interested in propagating the spread of superviruses, so no alcohol/hand sanitizer stations.
- They don´t make you wear embarassing clothing, you can wear whatever clothes you came there in.
- And they welcome guests! Dale had his own bed in the room, which he would later actually need when he too came down with some nasty bugs.
It was an overall memorable experience and one that we hope to never repeat.
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