The Adventure Continues

This is part of my journal entry from Sunday, Sept 4th...
Around 2:30 Friday morning, I woke up still feeling really sick. I laid there for awhile wondering what to do. I didn’t want to bother anyone with my complaints at 3 am if it was just nothing, but on the other hand, I had been in pain for about 12 hours at that point, and the thought came to my mind that it could be something serious, and that maybe I should call someone. After offering a prayer asking if I should contact someone, and feeling that I should, I turned to Kizzy, who was on the other side of the king size bed, and asked if I could use her cell phone to call my parents. I thought they could help me diagnose my potential illness. The first thing on my mind, though, was that I could have appendicitis. I remembered when Andrea had it on the mission and the pain she was in, and I just had a feeling that it was the same type of thing. After waking my parents up at 2 am their time, they confirmed my feelings that I should call someone, so after hanging up, Kizzy called Ernesto for me. He talked to me briefly, and told me that he would be on his way. I took a cool shower to keep my fever down, and then waited a while until Ernesto and Edgar (Hno Toris and Pte Flores) arrived. We got in the car and began to drive to the nearest hospital we could find. After passing by one that strangely appeared to be closed, we ended up at el Hospital de Guadalupe. We walked into a dark lobby, towards a door that had light shining from under it. It had a sign that said “Urgencias”, so we went in, and found a young doctor sitting there. He asked me what the problem was and I explained, and he started to do some simple tests, pressing a part of my abdomen to see if it hurt (it did), etc. He concluded that he thought it was appendicitis, but wanted to call in the surgeon to confirm it. He called him, and what seemed like an eternity later, an older gentleman on crutches, who turned out to be a very experiences surgeon, came in and confirmed my and the other doctor’s thoughts, that what I had was appendicitis. I continued to lie in this tiny emergency room (it had two beds, a desk, and a few shelves with medical supplies, and on the desk was a typewriter instead of a computer) for several hours while they ran a blood test, communicated with BYU, Church Headquarters, my parents, and various insurance companies to confirm details and make decisions about where I would be transferred, etc. In the end, I was transferred to a hospital called Hospital Beneficiencia Española. It turned out to me MUCH nicer, and more advanced than Guadalupe, and the same surgeon who checked on me in the emergency room operated. During all the phone calls and conferencing that took place (I felt like a very important person for a few minutes there), my mom decided to fly out, and to bring my aunt Lucy who has flight privileges with American Airlines. So I went into surgery at 2 pm, and when I got back, Ernesto, Crystal, Lindsay, and Kizzy were all there (Crystal and Lindsay had to teach the workshop all by themselves while we were at they hospital, and they did it like champs, I’m sure- in fact, they told me that Luz Elena, one of the participants we worked with Thursday, applied the principles she learned, and found a job Friday morning!!). It was great to see them, and just a little while later, my mom and Lucy arrived, along with a couple from Mexico City who had driven them here to Puebla. It was great to see them. I was still in pain, but was feeling much better, and was really happy to be surrounded by people I love.
I am writing this from the hospital. It’s Sunday afternoon, and aunt Lucy had to go back to Dallas. I am getting better. I am now wearing my own clothes instead of that thin hospital gown, I am eating real food, and they even took my IV out a few hours ago. The nurses have treated me so well here. I am really grateful for the service, and for the opportunity receive treatment. The whole time I have been here, I’ve been thinking about Andrea, and how brave she was to go though this after being in Spain for only 3 weeks. I had only been here 3 days, but the ability to speak the language really made a difference for me. I have been so blessed. I am still hurting, but it’s getting better and better. The plan is that I get to go home tomorrow. Sadly, Crystal and Lindsay also leave tomorrow morning, so I may miss them, but it will be good to be out of here, even though I’ve had great treatment. What a way to start my adventure here in Mexico. I feel really blessed. I am excited to overcome this trial of patience and faith, and to get on with the work here. The tiny taste I got of it on Thursday really got me excited.