Minimum Two Night Stay at the Reddington Hospital!

And I thought I was invincible! I had just commented at lunch on Tuesday that I have been pretty lucky that I have not gotten sick yet, but I spoke too soon! This past Tuesday (July 10) I started to feel ill around 12:30PM and it just got worse to the point that I was miserable by 4PM. I had the chills all over my body, a terrible headache, felt faint and as I waited to be seen by the doctors at the clinic I started to feel nauseous and started to have stomach issues. Because I had a fever and the chills, was dehydrated, and had a high white blood cell count based on the blood work, they decided to start me on IV antibiotics and fluids and admit me into Reddington Hospital for observation. My diagnosis was a combination of a bacterial infection and dehydration. The hospital (and the ambulance I got to ride in) was very nice and I had the opportunity to stay in the Royal Suites on the 6th floor because the suites on the 5th floor were full. The food was just OK, but I sure would have rather been home eating dinner made by our wonderful cook. The eggs were tolerable but I ate very little of the lunch (spaghetti and chicken) or dinner (creamy chicken soup). I just got home this afternoon (Thursday, July 12) although I have been asking to go home since yesterday. I don’t believe that I needed to stay the second night as I was having no problems drinking fluids on my own and I could deal with the stomach issues in the comforts of my own home. It seems as though they are extra cautious about the health of the expats here, which is a good sign but calls for a little extra time spent in the hospital. I think I got the stomach bug from the cafeteria at work and upon admission the hospital one of the doctors said that the number of "my company name here" expats being admitted to the hospital for gastrointestinal problems is alarming. I plan to mention something about this to management as an obvious problem needs to be addressed. As for the dehydration… I probably did not drink enough water to balance out the coke, beer, and wine I drank while in Ireland. ; ) I am now at home writing this note on the comforts of our couch and have to finish my antibiotics (Cipro) orally over the next few days and get some rest.

Unfortunately I was already familiar with Reddington Hospital as I had been there about 2 months ago when Bob was admitted for a malaria scare. We went on a trip up north and he started to feel ill but still continued to go hiking in the heat. He would wake up feeling fine but as the day went on he would develop a fever and then have chills through the night. These cyclical symptoms are typical for malaria. When we arrived back in Lagos, I made Bob call the doctor and based on his symptoms she directed him to go straight to Reddington Hospital where he was observed for 3 days and two nights and was then released with a clean bill of health. Based on the blood work, he did not have malaria or a bacterial infection, but a viral infection that would go away with time.

As the subject line says, it seems as though there is a minimum stay of two nights at the Reddington Hospital!