The doctor, whom my friend and former next door neighbor, Vyt, so graciously called for me, and who was to come to the apartment at around noon yesterday, finally showed up at 8 pm. But definitely better late than never, especially considering that he nearly did not show up at all. As I've mentioned earlier, none one seems able to find this address, not even the postman (regardless of rain, sleet, or snow, which cannot be found in Bali, either). The doctor, who is actually familiar with this area, could not find the place either. A flurry of futile text messages and locations sharings ensued, and he was about to give up and go home, but I asked him to please meet me at the fairly nearby KFC (everyone knows where the KFC is). So I drove up there on the motorbike, a feat which will be recorded as the most painful drive in my motorbiking life.
I escorted the doctor to my home and it was determined that the back injury, although quite painful, did not seem to be a serious problem. No bone damage, no internal injuries. He gave me a prescription muscle relaxer, noting that there was, however, nothing he could give me for the pain. In Indonesia, we do not have pain medications, except for the very popular and perfectly useless packet of Panadol.
He then turned his attention to my longstanding flu, and this proved to be the real problem. Took one look in my throat and said 'Ohhhh!" Took a listen to my lungs and said "Ohhhh!"
Infection, infiltrates, inflammation--the whole nine yards.
He laughed at the over-the-counter antibiotic I had bought at a nearby pharmacy and prescribed a strong antibiotic. He also prescribed an effective expectorant and an anti-inflammatory medication.
And so I am hopeful this morning, though still feeling like cold doo-doo.
I did discover last night that trying to sleep with back pain is not a highly recommended pursuit. I slept perhaps 2 hours out of the eight otherwise spent in lying awake and examining my life from start to finish (or as far as I've gotten) in excessive detail (more on that later).
It is 9:30 in the morning now and I think I will try to go back to sleep.
I escorted the doctor to my home and it was determined that the back injury, although quite painful, did not seem to be a serious problem. No bone damage, no internal injuries. He gave me a prescription muscle relaxer, noting that there was, however, nothing he could give me for the pain. In Indonesia, we do not have pain medications, except for the very popular and perfectly useless packet of Panadol.
He then turned his attention to my longstanding flu, and this proved to be the real problem. Took one look in my throat and said 'Ohhhh!" Took a listen to my lungs and said "Ohhhh!"
Infection, infiltrates, inflammation--the whole nine yards.
He laughed at the over-the-counter antibiotic I had bought at a nearby pharmacy and prescribed a strong antibiotic. He also prescribed an effective expectorant and an anti-inflammatory medication.
And so I am hopeful this morning, though still feeling like cold doo-doo.
I did discover last night that trying to sleep with back pain is not a highly recommended pursuit. I slept perhaps 2 hours out of the eight otherwise spent in lying awake and examining my life from start to finish (or as far as I've gotten) in excessive detail (more on that later).
It is 9:30 in the morning now and I think I will try to go back to sleep.
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