Edwina Curry. Do you remember? Salmonella in eggs?
Well, we are now first hand experts at dealing with salmonella. There we were, merrily thinking about our holiday in Thailand and how nice it was going to be to relax by the sea, eat sticky rice and have a massage. Yes, there we were. Arty had other ideas however. Somehow, and we really don't know what he ate - after all, he eats A LOT - he managed to get salmonella poisoning. Now I say this with the benefit of hindsight. When we cancelled our holiday last week due to him having massive diarrhoea and a temperature of 40 degrees, their main concern was dengue fever. I've had dengue. It is not nice. The thought of little Arty having it was awful.
So we stayed put, went to the shops to buy red wine and chocolate (note to Natalie - it worked.....well, for me anyway!), some dodgy DVDs and a whole heap of potatoes as the only thing he could eat. He didn't improve and didn't improve so eventually they told us to take him to the hospital to be 'seen by a doctor'. There is a great clinic here, staffed mainly by nurses with a doctor who is in but not every day and last week happened to be on holiday....in Thailand (which was rubbish apparently.....although I think she was just saying that...). They send the first poo pot off to the ICDDRB (which stands for the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh (who are one of the lead research institutions in the world for looking a poo and illness). Then we toddled off to the hospital a few days later as per instructions.
Having a poorly child is always worrying. Having a poorly child in a country where ambulances probably move at about 1 mph and the standard of healthcare is not that comparable to that we are all used to in the UK proved to be slightly more worrying. The hospital itself was quite modern and clean, though incredibly busy and with a bizarre queuing system and level of bureaucracy that was quite impressive! I did ponder on how lucky we were to be able to go to a private hospital here. Most people don't have access to these facilities and I dread to think what their health services if you are not in the Bangladeshi elite.
We were ushered up in the lift (they queue for lifts here....they don't queue or obey any form of discipline on the roads but they do queue for a lift!) and directed to the children's centre which was complete with bug breeding play area (and crazy rocking horse things - one slightly too vigorous rock and you'd be out of the window, 5 floors up). We were seen promptly, and then ushered back down again for a little more bureaucracy.
Back downstairs we were directed into the 'sample delivery room' which basically meant there were 2 slightly smelly toilets (for your samples of course) and then a room full of people taking blood. Taking blood from a 2.5 year old was always going to be a challenge and it was - for everyone involved. It was the most stressful part of the day (and that is saying something after the drive there....which is hard to describe so probably best not too - all I will say is, when in Bangladesh do as the locals, close your eyes, certainly don't look as you pull out at a junction, and drive). On a plus side however, the blood 'sample delivery' was an improvement on my experience of a Chinese hospital in Kunming many years ago where there was a big Perspex screen with all the nurses behind it. You just had to stick you arm through a hole which can only be described as being almost exactly the same as the hole Jerry used to run through in Tom and Jerry. They stuck the needle in, took the blood and then you could have your arm back. Ah yes, the memories. The Chinese ECG test was even better...but I digress.
So, home from hospital with some 'suppositories' for paracetamol in case the oral stuff didn't work apparently.....suppositories in a diarrhoea patient.....Mmmh.
A few days later and he's still not better BUT the ICDDRB have diagnosed his poo bacteria and basically said 'what have you been feeding your child, he has salmonella'....well, OK, they didn't say it quite like that but that's what it is. Did you know that with salmonella if it gets really bad you can perforate your gut.
So he's now drugged up (1 day and counting) but still feeling rubbish. His sister has been a delight, choosing books for him from here school library to make him feel better. Unfortunately though between Isobel, Peter and I we have now devoured all the Tim Tams which I'm sure would have made him much much better.
(b) some mashed potato....which resembles playdoh; (c) some vegetable things....emphasis on things; (d) some chicken tandoori skewers (very nice); (e) hard boiled eggs with and without yolks; (f) bread - sometimes with butter, sometimes with sugar, sometimes neither and sometimes both! 