A Quick Trip to the Hospital

(Warning: slightly graphic descriptions!)

On Sunday night in my room I room, I stepped (and spun) accidently on something sharp while getting ready for bed. I was surprised to when I saw blood. I headed downstairs to clean it up and make sure that there wasn’t a sliver or anything. I got it all cleaned up and didn’t see anything inside but it hurt like there was so to be sure, I grabbed some tweezers and investigated. Still unable to find anything, I chalked the pain up to the cut and went to bed.

When I woke up the next morning, it hurt to walk and that’s when I decided that there definitely had to be something in there. It was in my heel, which is pretty hard to get at by myself. Eduardo offered to help, saying that he is really good at getting slivers out but once he started he said he could see anything with his old eyes and called Jeremy over.

Jeremy took a look and said that it was glass and it was deep. He said if it was on his own body, he would just cut the skin away and take it out but he didn’t want to do that to me. I assured him that I would rather be uncomfortable for 10 minutes than have glass in my foot. So with a needle, tweezers, cuticle cutters, and some Bactine spray, he started working on my foot. He dug a nice size hole, peeling away skin, looking for the glass. After a few minutes he said he was going to go for it one time, and if it didn’t work, I was going to soak my foot in hot water and Epsom salt to help work it out. He went for it, and he was able to pull out a sliver of glass. He said that it wasn’t all of it but it hurt less so I wasn’t sure. 

I soaked my foot but had no results.

Later, when Maya got home from classes she wanted to try. She had the same tools, plus my head lamp, and went to work. She felt the glass but agreed that it was too deep to try and pull out. After talking with her and my Uruguayan parents, we decided it was in my best interest to head to the hospital. I gathered up my passport, health insurance documentation, and tried to call my parents but they were both at work. I tried to call my mom first, when the receptionist answered, I told her that I was Rosanne’s daughter, calling from Uruguay. She informed me that my mom was with a patient but if it was an emergency, she could get here. I told her, “No, just let her know that I’m going to the hospital” but after thinking about how that sounds, her daughter in Uruguay calling to say she was going to the hospital but it’s not urgent, I quickly changed my mind and told her, “No, no, no, don’t tell her anything” In the end, I got a hold of my dad and got confirmation that going to the hospital was a good idea.

Lau and I go in the car and headed off.

We got to the hospital and entered what seemed to be a walk in clinic/ urgent care setting. I gave them my name and passport number and nothing more to check in. I was surprised that they didn’t ask me for any background information, such as if I am allergic to any medicines, and basic medical history stuff. I have to fill out those forms every time I go to my regular doctor but I didn’t have to do anything for a doctor I’ve never seen before, in a foreign country.

I didn’t have to wait long for my name to be called. I was led back to room by a “surgeon”. We went into a room and left the door open while he checked my foot.

He told me that he wasn’t sure if he could get it out, that I might have to just let it fester its way out on its own. He wanted to check with his boss to be sure, so he sent me back to the waiting room.

15 minutes later, I was called back into the room which now had 3 staff members. The “boss” took a look at my foot and said that he could take it out for me. He gave me a shot of anesthesia (IN THE HOLE THAT JEREMY MADE IN MY FOOT, HURT SO BAD!) cut open my foot some more, and then pulled out a piece a glass roughly the size of a pea.

Soon, I was bandaged up and on my way.