I'm fine, trust me.
Trip Start
Jun 09, 2007
1
9
15
Trip End
Jul 03, 2007
Tucheng, Taiwan
Thursday, June 21, 2007
I couldn't help but do another update since I want to tell the story myself (since my mom has been telling it to everyone here). If you noticed the change in cities, I'm back in my mom's relative's house. Her sister is the one with the Internet, but we're staying at her parent's house, which is just down the street. Anyway, here's what happened yesterday.
Remember my really bad case of hives? Well, my aunt decided to schedule an appointment with her dermatologist. She, my mom, and I went on a short bus ride to get to the place. Apparently a dermatologist and an allergist have enough common ground that they're almost the same in Taiwan. Immediately recognizing my bad case of hives, the doctor prescribed some oral medication and 2 shots in addition to another type of oitment. I refused to get the shots on my butt because the last time that happened I couldn't sit down. The nurse warned me, however, that my arms would be really sore. I was thinking no big deal since I remember getting DT in one arm and hepatits B in another before entering high school. Even so, that couldn't prepare me for how much the shots hurt. I was also bleeding a bit since I couldn't staunch both of the punctures. When we were maybe 2 yards from the clinc, I started feeling light-headed and dizzy. My mom didn't believe me (because a bus ride can make my head spin), and I wondered if the shots had some Benadryl-like component that was making me super dizzy. However, my sight became blurry and I couldn't walk anymore. As you might have guessed, I black out on the sidewalk. Last thing I remember was thinking that we had gotten on the bus and telling my mom to wake me up when we get back. My mom later said that I narrowly missed hitting my head on the telephone pole. Then I returned to consciousness after hearing a bunch of voices and people trying to lift me. According to my mom and aunt, they were panicking because they thought I was reacting to the shots and they couldn't lift me up. The neighboring appliance store owner and veterinarian heard/saw the commotion and came to help, along with someone who had walked out of the clinic. We return to the doctor, and they have me lay down while he checks my pulse and blood pressure while a nurse goes to fetch water. It turns out everything was okay. I just hyperventalated from "nervousness." I'm still thinking WTF since I've never been nervous about shots (I just don't like them). My mom thanked the doctor, the nurses, and everybody who helped out. She told me that the vet was really young and cute. ^^;; The doctor said that I should stick aroudn in Taiwan for a longer period of time and get a boyfriend here because all Taiwanese people are helpful. (Really though, I think people in other countries would do the same...at least I hope.) In the end, the only bad thing besides my sore arms was the embarrassment that I had to relive over and over again because my mom had to tell everybody when we got back and my brother laughed at me.
By the evening, I was fine, if not exhausted from the fiasco. Still I was game enough to go shopping for more clothes at Hang Ten and getting my mom a birthday cake at the bakery (her birthday on the lunar calendar is today). However, I now have to have somebody who can pick me up to accompany whenever I have to get a shot, according to my mom. >_>
Damage to right elbow since coming to Taiwan:
- bruise on right side from hitting the business class and coach divider while getting off plane (loud "smack," ugly mark, but not much pain)
- bruise and blood blister on left side from hitting sofa at the nursing home (got it right on the bone, hurt like hell the rest of the day)
- scratch apparently from fainting today (couple inches, red, and painful)
