Adventures in Indian Healthcare

The 4 of us in the chair car stayed up until about 1:30 AM talking & listening to music together. After everyone went to sleep I started getting really intense stomach aches, and ended up spending most of the night in the bathroom vomiting. Let me tell you, though the only place on an Indian train you can get privacy, the bathroom is probably the least appealing place to spend your time. By some miracle there was a brand new, completely wrapped roll of toilet paper in the bathroom, and that definitely saved my life (or at least the cleanliness of my clothes). By the time the train rolled in at 6 AM I had gotten no sleep and felt awful. I made the executive decision to sleep through Hindi and try to get to school by 11. My decision was supported by getting a huge hug from my homestay sister when I told her what happened and she said, "Oh, I was so looking foreword to seeing happy Sally this morning!" I made it through the rest of the day, came home, and went straight to sleep. My host mother called me down at one point for dinner but I told her I didn't want food and promptly went back upstairs to sleep. My sister came up at about 10 and brought me a few biscuits, which I ate before going back to sleep until morning. I got dressed, ate a banana, and pulled myself together to go to school only so that I could ask to go to a doctor to see what was wrong.
At 10:30 Minojji (one of the program staff members) and I set out for the hospital. I guess there's no intermediate in India (at least for foreigners) - the hospital was the only solution to my problems. We walked in and I felt like I was back in the U.S. (except, of course, there were Indians everywhere) at, say, the U.C.L.A. hospital. We were at the Fortis Escorts Hospital, a nice private hospital that looked pretty new. We checked in at the front and then in the specific wing that the doctor I was seeing worked in. It was about 11 at this point and Minojji told me my appointment wasn't until 12:30, but he'd try to get it moved up. All of a sudden a family gets called in and he goes, "Ok, we're next." They were in & out in about 10 minutes, so I saw Dr. Gupta in no time. The visit was weird to say the least:
1. His first words to me were asking me how to spell my name.
2. He didn't take my temperature, even though I told him I thought I had a fever the day before.
3. He automatically assumed I was sick because I had eaten street food, and subtly chastised me for it, even though that wasn't the case.
4. The actual examination consisted of me lying down on a bed and him pressing on my stomach. When I told him it hurt he seemed satisfied that I had a stomach bug. Actually I think that part was actually pretty normal but I figured I'd include it.
5. After the examination, I sat back down at his desk expecting to be told about what he thought I had and what he was prescribing me. False, he spoke to Minojji in Hindi the whole time. All of a sudden we were walking out of his office and Minojji was telling me that he had suggested these other tests for me but it was my call if I wanted them or not. How am I supposed to know if I need these tests when the doctor won't even talk to me? After I said that I didn't want them Minojji said he agreed so at least there was that.
6. We went to the pharmacy and I got 3 prescriptions for about 100 rupees each (About $1.50). Again, no one told me what they were - Minojji just told me when to take them. (I did some Googleing today though - they're all for stomach/GI tract infections and are working so I'm fine with it)
At the pharmacy there was a husband & wife with their newborn baby. I think it was a girl because it was wrapped in a pink blanket. I melted a little bit.
After that we went back to the SIT center, where I caught most of that day's lecture (somewhat ironically on Public Health) and had an appetite by lunch. After lunch though things took a turn for the worse. I went to the meditation room to take a nap and when I woke up I felt really hot, sick, and dizzy. Deirdre and Aviva took me home, put me in bed, and somehow communicated to my host mother what was going on. When my sister got home she had me come downstairs where it was cooler and lie in the king-sized bed in one of the rooms. I spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping and reading in the bed, and Deirdre came over for a little bit later which I really appreciated. I also ate all of my dinner (curd, rice, and toast), which I considered to be a good sign. I went to sleep shortly thereafter and woke up this morning feeling much, much better. I even had enough energy to shower! When I came downstairs for my breakfast, my host sister even said, "Oh I've been waiting to see that smile!" which definitely made me feel better. Also when I got home today I asked my host mother how she was doing in Hindi (aap ke se hay) and she goes, "no no no, first I ask YOU how you are!" so cute.
So all's well now - I'm taking my medicine and slowly re-entering the world of real-people food and keep getting more and more strength back. And I got all caught up on the Hindi homework I didn't do while I was sick.