A Twist of Events

The most unbelievable, sad, yet fortunate thing happened while I was in Miami. I had been staying in the hospital with Kris for almost a week when I received a phone call from my sister Rita in Michigan. She informed me that my 93-year-old grandmother, Bita, had died. Bita is originally from Cuba and had lived in Miami up until November of 2006, when she moved up to Michigan to live with my family. I wasn’t completely shocked because my mom had been preparing me for her death by giving me frequent updates on her health. I felt very relieved and grateful that I would get to attend her funeral in Miami. I missed my grandfather, Papi’s, funeral last year because I was living and working in Chicago. I knew it would have been terribly hard for me to lose Bita while living in Honduras and not being able to attend her funeral either. Plus Bita and I were very close and had a special bond, so I was especially lucky with the timing of such a sad passing. Not only did I get to attend Bita’s funeral, but I also had the chance to see all of my family, plus all my extended Cuban family. It was quite a blessing to get out of the hospital. Kris was very understanding and we knew that she was stable and not in any life threatening danger, so when my family arrived I went with them to a rented house in South Miami.

It was at this point that my emotions got the best of me. I walked into the house and was welcomed by my cousins and aunts. They had already mourned Bita’s death and were happy to all be together and were ready to enjoy the pool and party a bit. Being in the hospital with Kris, taking care of her, and dealing with culture shock at the same time, I had not yet had a chance to realize and attend to my own feelings of grief, loss, and culture shock. I lost it. It was quite overwhelming to say the least. My mom picked up on how I was feeling and got me out of the house...thank you! It was only a brief glimpse as to how hard it is going to be to return home and pick up where things left off.

I spoke at my grandmother’s funeral, which was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done. I just felt like I had to do something to honor her and the special relationship that I was so fortunate to share with her. As hard as it was for me to get the words out, I am full of pride that I was able to do that for her and our family. It’s something I will always remember.

After the funeral, we all went to my mom’s cousins’ house, Ana Maria and Mariana. We ordered a bunch of Cuban food and I was finally able to relax a bit. It was nice to be with all of the family, although I felt Bita’s absence the whole time. The next day Kris was released from the hospital and we all were finally able to enjoy what Miami has to offer, beyond hospital walls and the funeral parlor. We went to South Beach, soaked up the sun, ate lunch on Ocean Drive and did a little shopping. The next day Manuel and Elsa (my mom’s cousins) invited us out on their boat. It was a wonderful day spent at Elliot Key. It was a nice day to culminate the unexpected, unplanned two weeks spent in Miami.

The following day my family left and I returned to the NPH house for one more night. I was able to do some shopping for my despedida/going away party at Target (thanks Mercy and Rosario for the donations!!!) and took Kris out to run some errands. The next day, Kris flew to Belgium and I returned to Honduras. No time to relax though because my friend Courtney was expected to arrive the following day...stay tuned!

Welcome to Miami, Bienvenida a Miami...

My Honduran adventure has taken me back to the States...again. This time was unplanned and unexpected just like the first time, but fortunately during my second trip I was not suffering from any facial paralysis. My friend Kris (I explained her medical drama in the previous blog) was not doing any better -- she had a few more fainting spells, and complained of migraine-like headaches. The Honduran doctors wanted to do a spinal tap, and that was just something she was not willing to do in a developing country. So, what ended up happening is that she was medi-vacked in a private, ambulance-equipped jet out of Honduras and into Miami, Florida. Seeing as how it would have been very expensive for her parents to fly from Belgium, the U.S. is a foreign country to Kris, and I have family and have been to Miami many times, Kris asked me to accompany her. I was having my own issues on the ranch and was in a little funk, so a little getaway to Miami, off the ranch, sounded great.

Dagmar, an NPH Miami-based volunteer from Germany, picked me up at the airport and drove me to the hospital. She was so great in taking me to and from the airport and being our personal chauffer during our stay in Miami. Kris was on the neurology floor and was lucky to have her own room. I visited with her for the majority of the evening and I think I really helped to calm her nerves, make her comfortable, and get her mind off of things. That night I stayed at the NPH Miami house. It is a normal, ranch-style house in the Kendall area of Miami. Looking at it from the street you would never guess it is an office. When I walked in I was pleasantly surprised to find a really nice, comfortable home. Dagmar informed me that all the living room and dining room furniture, along with a signed Miró painting were all donated by Shakira. Now that was pretty cool. I got my own room, was able to enjoy surfing the web from the comfort of my own bed, and chatted with some friends and family.

The following few days Dagmar dropped me off at the hospital in the morning and picked me up in the evening. After four days Kris was transferred into the “International Suite”. It was basically the VIP of hospital rooms. Warm tones on the walls, a kitchenette, marble bathroom, dinette set, plasma TV, comfy couch, and desk made us feel more like we were in a hotel room than in a hospital. The room also had a rollaway bed, so I moved-in to the hospital room as well. Kris had a series of tests done (MRI, MRA, CAT scans, numerous blood tests, etc.). The doctors were having a hard time finding a diagnosis as many of the tests came back normal. The doctors think that she had an allergic reaction to Prednisone (i.e., cortisone, steroids), which she was given on the ranch to treat rheumatoid arthritis. It turns out Kris does not even have rheumatoid arthritis, but a different kind of arthritis. As the days passed at the hospital, Kris seemed to be doing physically better. She was able to walk around, eat normal food, and chat with family and friends back in Belgium. However, she was still suffering pretty severe headaches. To rule out other problems and to be complete, the doctors recommended that Kris did, in fact, have the spinal tap.

Seeing as how she was medically evacuated and was an international patient insurance would only cover Kris as long as she stayed in the hospital; meaning that Kris (and me) became prisoners of the Jackson Memorial Hospital’s West Wing. Between procedures and tests, Kris and I did a lot (really a lot) of waiting. At first it was okay. We enjoyed wireless internet in our room, watching TV, filling out her menus for the following day’s meals, and just hanging out. Each day we’d walk around the hospital campus for a bit to get some fresh air, stretch our legs, and treat ourselves to ice cream, coffee, or whatever else we were in the mood for. It wasn’t until Kris passed the one week mark that her emotions and reality set in.

It took just over a week until they were able to schedule her for a spinal tap. When she went in the technician (or whoever) was unable to successfully complete the procedure. So, she had to wait yet another day to repeat the process, but this time under live X-Ray (i.e., fluoroscopy). This was also hard for her because the spinal tap is not a pleasant experience to endure (much less twice!). The way a spinal tap works is that they take out spinal fluid, inject a nuclear fluid, and do a CAT scan to track the fluid in the cerebrospinal fluid. The doctors have to complete a CAT scan every 24 hours for three to four days after the spinal tap is performed. Seeing as how Kris was unable to leave the hospital, this meant even more waiting and made her more uneasy as to what the results would be.

Finally, after two weeks of being in the hospital she was discharged and booked a flight to Belgium. Currently here’s what we know. She had a bad/allergic reaction to the Prednisone, she began experiencing severe migraine headaches (whether or not that was related to the Prednisone we don’t know), she started taking pain killers and migraine medications to control the pain and symptoms (which seemed to be working), and through the spinal tap were able to find that she has a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid on one side of her head (which is causing these pressure-like headaches). The doctors decided that these were not life threatening problems and sent her on her way to Belgium. The plan is for Kris to have some follow-up tests done in Belgium and hopefully begin a treatment. Kris is hopeful to return to the ranch, although she is taking the time to emotionally recoup and recover before making any big decisions.

I am very glad (and I’m pretty confident she is too) that I was able to be with Kris through all of this. She is one of my good friends here on the ranch and I felt very willing and fortunate to be able to be there for her.