Morgellons, More Medical Madness and Shopping

A hummingbird that used to visit and sit quietly when you talked to it. Trying to also get a photo of the parrolet that is digging out a nest hole in our strangler fig tree. Fascinating in that if I stare directly at it from the pool it gives the warning/fright cry and darts off. But if I sneakily glance over briefly he's not much bothered. 

Well, I will admit one thing, Jim going daily to the clinic for iv infusions has landed us among some rather strange characters. Just the other day we were sitting in the back waiting for the iv to finish up when they brought a lady through to the "Sala de Emergencia" or the emergency room at the clinic. She was an odd bird.

It's a small clinic, a couple of exam rooms, a lab, an area with a few beds so you can get ivs or rest, an ER room and a procedures room. There's no notion of privacy much either there. Very modern and clean, nice than many U.S. hospitals, but zero privacy.

In tromps that patient, and we could not avoid hearing her saga spoken loudly. She told a tale of having been back and forth here more than a few times, that most of the doctors were idiots including the one dermatologist who hits town once a month to see patients there. My ears pricked up when she mentioned the dermo. We see him once a year, and have anything suspicious looking frozen off. Oh, the joys of senior citizenhood, having every bump and blemish checked for skin cancer every year!

The more this lady complained, abused staff and acted like the ultimate Karen, the more it started to dawn on me that perhaps that elevator isn't reaching the top floor. She believes she has parasites crawling just beneath her skin, trying to show them to the new doctor and insisting they slice open her skin, remove one or two and test them. She never said the word "Morgellons" but it sure sounded like we were heading into that territory. First time I've seen one in the wild, just on the internet. Poor lady was upset that the dermotologist tried to give her a psych consult and put her on some sort of psych med in the meantime.

Just got Jim's latest bloodwork and I think they're going to be sending him back for more iv treatments. Numbers are not good, he still has some sort of raging infection in there. The only good of it is that the clinic is an interesting place with prime odd people watching.

Today after the bloodwork it was trying to get ten trillion things done because we're coming up on the busiest week of the year for tourism - Christmas. Paying the yearly Marchamo on the car, getting the required maintenance on the car and shopping, shopping, shopping. Monthly PriceSmart run. Toilet paper, cleaning supplies and other 'fun' every day things.

Passed the bullfighting ring and carnival rides going full blast in downtown Filadelphia this evening. In Guanacaste in this time of year you can always find a town hosting the bullfights. But it's not like the bullfights you've ever seen. They're forbidden from harming the bull in any way. Usually you have a bunch of Ticos, filled with bravado and guaro, trying to touch the bull without getting gored or trampled. Most of the bulls are old farmers cattle, walk out blinking into the bright lights before attempting to scramble back out the way they came. Very few show up feisty and in fine fettle. It's more like some failed comedy bit.


 

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