Infection, Hospitals, and Dressings

For those who don't know... this trip where I look so happy,
I got in a bit of an accident... which most of you know.
If you don't check out this post about Gokarna. Anyways, the
thing that some won't know is that my scrape got infected.

So here is the story of the hospitals in India, and how I spent 3 weeks of my life in India feeling terrible.

When we returned from Gokarna, I went to the hospital. I just picked the one closest to me and hoped for the best. I walked in and there was no one in the waiting room, and reception greeted me. I tell them what happened and am immediately put into the casualty room.

I have to request for a doctor's consultation, which results in a doctor looking at my leg for about 5 minutes then writing me a prescription which just consisted of a piece of paper with a request for painkillers, antibiotics, tetanus, and a needle. You read that right, I was handed the needle and tetanus vial and then was instructed to give it to the nurse. While this seemed strange, I just went with it because, well... I didn't really have a choice.

So the room that I'm in is has 2 chairs and a bed that is covered in plastic (to make cleaning quick). It wasn't uncommon during my dressings for someone to either be puking or sitting on the other side of the curtain. It wasn't surprising that I frequently heard other people's information and illnesses.

Anyways, after about 4 days from returning from Gokarna I barely could walk and this is when I realized that a tetanus shot and my antibiotics were not working. So back to the hospital I go. I receive new antibiotics, this time for infections that are resistant to antibiotics, and a strict dressing routine. I would return everyday after 9:30pm for a dressing and to have the doctor check my scrape.

 Some of the dressings I received looked a lot like a cast, but that did help with the infection. I mean after 3 weeks of puking and feeling tired after most doses of antibiotics and being unable to walk some days, I finally healed. The dressings came off and the doctor visits stopped. It was nice to feel well for the first time in weeks.

While I would have preferred not to go to the hospital, I do have to say that I found it fascinating how the hospitals work here. Between the shortest wait times and the low costs and the procedures, I found myself (almost) looking forward to a new dressing.

Here are a couple photos

that I probably wasn't allowed to take, but I really was interested

Some of the interesting things that I encountered at the hospital were:

• One night I saw a doctor walking around the hospital wearing a denim button up with acid wash denim pants. 

• Had my doctor argue with the senior doctor about my treatment plan… he won. I healed.

• When I asked whether the medications react with any other medications, I was told, “If you start forming a rash, come back.”

• The doctors and the nurses and the reception knew me, and was quick to help me.
  
  
• Everyone was apologetic when I had to wait longer than 10 minutes.
  
  
• My doctor didn’t charge me for his consultation because of how long the healing process took.
  
  
• I also only spent $50 USD total for all of my visits and medications