The past week I spent in and out of the doctor’s office and pharmacies diagnosing and treating the bacterial infection in my stomach. Luckily, however, I didn’t have to navigate this new chapter of my Guatemalan experience alone. I spent the week with the Scott family who graciously offered me their five years of experience living in Xela, Spanish medical term translating ability, and spare bedroom for the past five days.
This week-long journey started Monday with a doctor’s appointment with a specialist in gastroenterology and parasites. The 10:30 a.m. appointment turned in to a nine-hour day of no-food-or-water-allowed blood tests, breath tests, and an endoscopy under short-term anesthesia. For someone who has never even gotten their blood drawn, and definitely has never been on an operating table, it was quite a new experience.
Jenny filled the waiting bench, patient bed, and operating table side with conversation, experienced advice, encouragement, and laughter the whole time, filling my heart with comfort, encouragement, and peace. Her Spanish fluency covered my two-month Spanish gaps and I went into each new test or procedure with full confidence, even though it may have at times been accompanied by shaky nerves.
The nine-hours spent in the clinic and multiple new medical experiences were vale la pena (worth the pain) however because we came out on the other side with answers and some never before seen photos of my insides. The diagnosis: a bacterial infection which had led to a build-up of bile in my stomach and aggravated a previously-unknown hernia in my esophagus. Thankfully, nothing that isn’t easily treatable or manageable!
My treatment includes a few different (temporary) medicines taken before and after each meal and a slight (permanent, thanks to my unusually short esophagus) change in diet.
Although finding out bacteria has taken temporary residence is my stomach for the past two months, the good news is Spanish must be taking up permanent residence in my brain! Jenny told me that when I woke from the anesthesia and stumbled out into the lobby I came out chatting away in Spanish, albeit heavily-slurred and incredibly comical!
I spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as part of the family, playing with the three adorable kids by day; running around to different pharmacies, back to the doctor after they couldn’t read his handwriting, back to the pharmacies to search for the medicine, and back to the doctor for official test results and receipts for my insurance during nap times; and hanging out and learning tons about life as a married couple, young parents, and missionary family from Brandon and Jenny. I could see so much of myself and who I want to be in Jenny and I can’t believe how blessed I was to meet this amazingly strong and incredibly giving woman.
Spending meal times, story book times, discipline times, home school times, temper tantrum times, frazzled times, unconditional love times, backyard muddy times, prayer times, and many other just plain life times with this family gave me such a sweet glimpse of what a marriage and family done right looks like overseas.
Their three uniquely different and similarly loving kids gave me so much joy these past few days, and along with it, some hilarious memories. I will share a few with you below so you can get a taste of how fun this family is.
One night while getting the kids ready for bed, Deacon (the oldest, five years old) noticed his foam pool noodle transformed into a lightsaber was sitting under his bed. One thing led to another, and next thing I know Deacon, sporting a full-length Jedi cape and wielding the real deal light-up noise-making version, and I are engaged in an all-out battle flying across the pitch black living room in true Jedi master fashion.
The next day Madeline (the second oldest, three years old) waltzed down the stairs to join us for breakfast in her Sleeping Beauty costume and proceeded to spend the rest of the day in the pink and sparkly ball gown. Later that afternoon Deacon, Madeline, and I acted out all her favorite princess movies in the backyard—placed, directed, and feed lines by Madeline. At one point, we acted out “Mulan,” the timeless endearing story of two sisters rowing in a boat until the princess jumps out and swims to her beloved’s castle only to find him dead but then brought back to life by a magical cape from Jesus after which they dance and live happily ever after while the other sister keeps rowing in the boat. Not the Mulan you are familiar with? Nor I, but it sure made for a great laugh!
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