Friends and Family;
It is time to ask for prayers
for myself, as well as for many other people in the United States and around
the world.
Some of you know that I was
participating in a Migrant Trails Study Tour with the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
in Central America and then at the U.S./Mexican border.
I arrived Feb. 15th in El
Salvador and spent two days with a friend and her family that I had not seen in
14 years! I met her during my Europe
Year, 2006, in Northern Ireland on the North Irish Sea at a place called
Corrymeela. We have kept in touch
through the years thanks to Facebook!
I joined the group of
Presbyterians and others that I was to travel with on Monday the 17th of
February and began the program with them learning about migration to the United
States and the causes of it. We were in
El Salvador for several days before we traveled on to Guatemala by bus late in
the day on ---------------. I
participated in the program for three days, including visit to CEDEPCA, a place
that I have heard about for years and was wildly excited to finally see in
person! On the fourth day I came down
with a bad cough and asked if I could be taken to see a doctor.
I was taken to a private
hospital in Guatemala City. The doctors
there took blood and did a thorough workup on me. The verdit:
a virus and pneumonia. I had
taken traveler’s diarrhea antibiotics a few days earlier and apparently the culprit
was E-Coli, so the medication had not helped.
I admit being quite shocked about the pneumonia diagnosis.
The doctor’s wanted to admit
me to the hospital and I said that was not going to happen. I would not be in a hospital in a foreign
country where I didn’t know anyone and did not know the language. Checking with the leadership team for the
Study Tour the decision was made for me to fly out of Guatemala and home to
Seattle as soon as possible.
I was taken back to the hotel
and I got myself packed as quickly as I could.
It was unnerving calling the airline reservation line and undoing the
reservations I had made with such hope not all that long ago, in order to reschedule
by plans.
I was to leave the next
morning for the states. Sunday the 23rd
of February I spent the day traveling. I
had help at the airport which was wonderful, checking in and getting a
wheelchair. I am so thankful that I made
it home without incident. I was coughing
quite a bit and trying to keep it to myself, but I am certain it was irritating
other people.
I arrived at Sea-Tac, had
help picking up my checked in carry on and found the woman who serves as a private
taxi who got me safely home. I was not
home for long when my daughter drove me to the local Swedish hospital Emergency
Room. At that point I checked out okay
and was sent home.
The next day I simply did not
feel well. I wasn’t able to begin
unpacking and putting things away (that still hasn’t happened). My daughter again took me to the ER. I had hardly grabbed anything on my way out
of the apartment, not even my backpack.
I had a little pile of belongings with me.
Apparently the chest x-ray
they took in ER showed that the pneumonia was not diminishing. I was admitted to the hospital that Monday
night the 24th of February. I spent the
next several days hospitalized, gratefully, and was released last Friday the 28th
of February.
I ended up having to take an
Uber home from the hospital. It was not
a good experience and I hope to never have to use one again.
Since I got home there have
been multiple and growing cases of the Coronavirus. I began to hear of this new virus long before
I ended up back home in my apartment with a case of pneumonia that is on the
mend.
This has been an anxious
week. The primary reason that this is so
is because I am now in the High Risk group for catching and also dying from
this virus. I keep hearing that 80% of
people will be fine, there is just a small group that will need hospitalization
if they are inflicted.
I am now over 60. This is one high risk criteria. And I have a chronic lung disease. Last November, 2019, I was diagnosed with
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, known as COPD. I am now in two high risk groups.
I had not decided when to
share this medical diagnosis with my Face Book friends; this now seems like an
appropriate time.
I am in self imposed quarantine. CNN just said that for people in self imposed
quarantine it should be for at least 14 days.
I have not seen my mail since
February 14th. I think I will have to
request for the post office to hold my mail again, perhaps until the end of March. I will not be able to vote in the Washington
State Primary for president.
I am waiting right now for a
call back from a nurse at my primary care physician’s office. I cancelled my one week check back
appointment that was scheduled for yesterday.
After a discussion with someone in the office I decided there was too
much risk of exposure to sick people.
Meanwhile I have realized that I do have some questions.
I would ask for prayers both
for myself and for all of the other people worldwide who are in high risk
groups and are experiencing anxiety over what will happen in the days and weeks
to come. Sojourner’s Magazine has a
powerful article that is on-line right now addressing the inequalities that
this illness is laying bare. Loving
Your Neighbor in a Time of Coronavirus by Jim Wallis.
I am going to post this blog
entry before I have had time to go back through it thoroughly. I may at a later time discover typos!
Blessings to all who take the
time to read this,
Debbie
