Our Lady of Fatima & My Excruciating Pain

No transcripts yesterday. No, instead around 1 pm, we all drove to Siaton, a town in the mountains outside of Dumaguete, to visit the famous Our Lady of Fatima shrine. It was beautiful, and the entire time I wished so badly that Bruno could be there with me. Again I was sick on the drive, and by the time we made it there it had started raining again. After hiking up the steep stairs to the statue, then back down, my mom and I lit candles and offered prayers outside the chapel. On our way home, we stopped at a cafe to kill time and wait for the storm to subside. We ate and chatted for a while, then we made it back to Dumaguete around 5 pm. Afterward, we went to my aunt's house to visit, where I passed out on the couch (passing out and missing dinner and conversation seems to be a habit of mine). We returned to my aunt and uncles house (who my mom and I are staying with) around 9 pm.








Today, I awoke early, only to sit inside all day due to the storms. I didn't mind, though. I got to talk to Bruno on AOL instant messenger this morning (I'm so grateful that I can talk to him when I awake and before I go to bed), then I wasted time browsing the DumagueteInfo forums (a great little site, might I add). I was even lucky enough to stumble across a classified ad in which the poster was looking for a university student or graduate to grade essays written by secondary school students. I responded, so hopefully that will turn out well. I know I won't make anywhere near as much what I'm used to, but it will give me something to do. Even a little bit extra pocket money won't hurt either. I'm very excited, and I hope I get the job.

Around 4 pm, my aunt arrived from work, and she, my mom, and I left for downtown Dumaguete. We dropped my mom off at the Health Clinic, where she used to work, so she could visit some old friends, then my aunt and I stopped by Silliman to take care of business. I tried to submit my transcripts, but no one was available due to a meeting; I think we'll be trying again tomorrow. I stopped at the restroom while we were on campus and experienced terrible pain, but it wasn't enough to stop me from documenting this gem:

I haven't mentioned it, but I regularly get UTIs/bladder infections because, like a fool, I always "hold it" and never use the restroom when I should. My latest case started during the trip (Tuesday or Wednesday, perhaps), and I'm sure is due to the fact that I was unable to regularly use the restroom due to the flight schedule. I've been drinking lots of cranberry juice since then, but it hasn't helped. I suppose that's because I hate using public restrooms, and we have been traveling a lot since arriving in the Philippines. I'm only lucky that it hasn't gotten much worse. Once, when I was working at Dillard's and before I realized just what a UTI, it got so bad that there was blood "in it," but still I ignored it until it finally developed into a kidney infection! The pain was unbearable, especially since I had to deal with it while at work too! Too much information, I know, but I want to stress my pain and the importance of treating UTIs immediately! Since then, I still get them from time to time, but with lots of cranberry juice and water, they go away immediately. I thought that would be the case here, but alas - it's only getting worse. As I was saying, this has been going on since Wednesday or so, but the pain has been bearable. I saw that as a good sign because even if it isn't getting better, at least it isn't getting worse - bad idea! Today, it got worse. After leaving Silliman, I thought I was going to die.

My aunt has been encouraging me to have my urine tested so I can be treated, but I despise hospitals and health clinics and hate taking medicine and antibiotics. When it comes to antibiotics, I'm the kind of person who would rather forgo them in order to let my body build up an immunity to the bacterias and viruses. At this point, however, I had to give in before it gets any worse. A foreign country is the LAST place I want to be hospitalized. So immediately after leaving Silliman, we went to a health clinic for a urinalysis. It's so different compared to the US; the process was expedient with no long questionnaires, no insurance information requests, not even a wait! You're probably thinking - well, that place was probably some sketchy, hole-in-the-wall, non-legit place, but it really wasn't. Immediately, I was able to do my business and hand it over directly to the lab tech, where she promptly began testing. In less than thirty minutes we were handed the results - which were not good. Apparently, I have too many "pus cells" to even be counted, and there is definite bacteria. FABULOUS. My aunt called another relative, who is a doctor, shared the results, and I was prescribed ciprofloxacin - 500 mg, once a day, for 7 days. (Heh, I used to know the pharmaceutical way to write that all from the days I was studying to be a pharmacy tech.) Hopefully this will work. I hate taking antibiotics, but I hate even more this intense pain that makes me want to stab myself in the bladder.