Expect the Unexpected

This morning I awoke naturally at 7:30am but decided to fight my body's decision to get up. I forced myself to go back to sleep and when I woke again, it was around 10am. No way was I going to wake up at 7:30 on a day off! (hartal day)

 

Around 1pm Nick, Samantha, Natalie and I walked to Banani to get a bite to eat. Natalie is a new PhD student that is living in my apartment with Nick and I. She just arrived yesterday and today was her very first day adventuring out into town! It was revitalizing to walk around with her and hear the excitement in her voice as she asked questions. It reminded me of how excited I was when I first arrived and everything was overwhelmingly different from what I knew.

 

We walked to a greek restaurant that was located within a hotel in downtown Banani. When we walked up to the second floor and into the restaurant, it was drastically fancier than we had anticipated. The staff was dressed in matching uniforms, smooth jazz was playing in the background, the tables were all neatly set, and the walls were a crisp white in contrast to the black accents amongst the restaurant. We each enjoyed separate dishes of pasta, shrimp, chicken kabobs, vegetables, tzatziki and pita.

 

After lunch we walked farther into Banani to another hotel that had a local coffee shop inside where Nick decided he was going to do work. Natalie, Samantha and I bought a brownie and then proceeded to head back towards our district. In search for a yoga mat for Sam, we made our way through a few stores and an outdoor market in the Gulshan 2 circle. With no luck, we then walked around the circle to our favorite market, Lavender, to get food for Natalie. About 15 minutes into shopping, Natalie came to Sam and I and asked us if her face was swollen because she felt a little funny. She did seem to have a little bit of swelling, so we decided to pay and make the 10 minute walk back home.

 

As we walked down the familiar street back to our apartment, we all began discussing the possibilities of the reaction Natalie was having. She had no known food allergies or sensitivities to anything. A few ideas fluttered around in conversation: heat rash, travel stress, pollution, food allergies, normal allergies. We concluded it could be an array of things.

 

When we arrived back at our apartment together, just Natalie and I, her condition had gotten drastically worse and was progressing very quickly. After sitting her in front of the AC in my room with the fan on with a cold compress on her swollen face, I managed to call icddrb student services. I explained the issue and that it was quickly taking a turn for the worse. I was advised to take a rickshaw a few blocks away to the ER at the United Hospital.

 

I helped Natalie walk out of our apartment and onto the street where we hoped to quickly find a rickshaw. Typically, about 5 will flock to us when we walk out asking where we want to go, but this time there were none in sight. Having a hard time walking, she sat down on the curb while I ran to the street corner to find a ride. Just as I began making my way to the end of the street, two men riding a rickshaw towards us saw what was happening, got off their rickshaw and offered it to us. After giving us their rickshaw, they asked us where we needed to go and translated to the rickshaw walla where the hospital was. I am constantly blown away at the loving people in this country; I have had so many memorable experiences with truly loving and caring Bangladeshis.

 

The 5 minute ride to the ER felt like 30. Natalie was having trouble breathing and seeing because the swelling was getting so progressively negative. When we finally arrived, I hopped off the rickshaw and ran to the ER doors to yell in to tell them someone was having an allergic reaction and was having trouble breathing. Quickly nurses ran over with a wheelchair and got the half-conscious woman out of the rickshaw and into the hospital. The doctors questioned me about the afternoon and what had happened. I was asked to fill out some paperwork following the doctors questions when Jill, the wonderful woman in charge of student services, arrived in the waiting room.

 

About 10 minutes later, the doctor came out from the ER ward and told us that Natalie had very low blood pressure, a fever, had gone into anaphylactic shock and needed to be transferred to the ICU!! WOW. Thank God she got to the ER when she did! She will be spending the night in the ICU and will most likely be released into the main hospital ward or discharged from the hospital tomorrow depending upon her recovery.

 

I was absolutely shocked as to how fast things escalated and was SO thankful that the hospital was close by. I couldn't believe how calm I was through the whole situation and am so blessed that God has given me such serenity in situations like this. I am absolutely unsure where my ability to deal with uncomfortable and nerve wracking situations comes from, but I am beyond thankful for it! Most importantly, I am happy that Natalie is stable and doing much, much better. What a way to spend your first day in Bangladesh, huh? What a trooper.

 

Since Jill and I had plenty of time to talk while waiting in the ER and ICU rooms, we had the chance to talk a great length about a plethora of topics. The most exciting news we spoke about was my finalized trip to Matlab! I will be leaving tomorrow morning at 7am by an icddrb van and should arrive in Chandpur within 4-5 hours! YIPPIE!

 

Well it's just about 10pm here in Dhaka and I still need to pack and shower in preparation for my departure tomorrow morning. I hope you all have a wonderful Monday and I look forward to sharing more stories, pictures, experiences and thoughts with you as my time in Chandpur unfolds!

 

Always in love,

-C.