Hey
Gerald Goes Bye-Bye
Soon after arriving in Bangkok, Gerald reared his ugly head again. One morning, right after breakfast, Benjamin suddenly doubled over -- every muscle in his face flexing as he grit his teeth. I'm sure he would have made a hideous noise if only his face wasn't twisted up in a tight knot of pure agony.
"Gerald's back," he said in a tight voice, the kind stoners use after a big hit on the bong -- you know, in the movies.
Benjamin spent the next three days in bed self-medicating with drugs bought in India but not used. He was waiting for Gerald to make one more appearance before taking the Tinidazole -- that's the 'fail safe' method we devised, a rule if you will, for self diagnoses of medical problems -- and in particular, problems like Giardia, which are known to come and go. Waiting for Gerald's return was our scientific method of fact checking. Benjamin did try to give me a stool sample to test for parasites, but without a lab and protective gloves, I refused. We had nothing but time and patience to use as tools in making a positive ID...
After a few days on the meds, Benjamin still wasn't feeling right. I asked him if he thought maybe we should go to the doctor. I suggested that perhaps his problem wasn't Giardia after all.
"I don't know what else it could possibly be," he muttered while stroking his chin. He had the air of a doctor who's built an award winning career on the study of stomach disorders.
"It could be anything," I laughed, "It's not like we even knew what Giardia was before we read about it in Lonely Planet. Do you think maybe there's a small chance there are other parasitic diseases or problems we don't know about? Hmmm?"
I left him in bed one night and came to the internet cafe to do some research. We had questions about the correct dosage of Tinidazole. The guy who sold us the medication said to take two pills a day for three days, one in the morning and one at night. But the Lonely Planet said to take 2 grams (4 pills) at once, a single dose, one day only. I found the same inconsistency on the internet amongst a number of sites (I also found a 'Giardia Club' which I have enrolled Benjamin in). So I went to the pharmacy down the street and bought some more Tinidazole, a pack that came with English instructions. Turns out Lonely Planet was correct, so Benjamin downed 4 pills before bed one evening and woke up as good as new.
I asked Benjamin to write a good-bye letter to Gerald to publish on this blog, but he's still working on it... I took a peak over his shoulder the other night and saw the first sentence:
Dear Gerald
I'm not normally one to write 'Dear John' letters, but in this case, it just seems so damn appropriate...
"Gerald's back," he said in a tight voice, the kind stoners use after a big hit on the bong -- you know, in the movies.
Benjamin spent the next three days in bed self-medicating with drugs bought in India but not used. He was waiting for Gerald to make one more appearance before taking the Tinidazole -- that's the 'fail safe' method we devised, a rule if you will, for self diagnoses of medical problems -- and in particular, problems like Giardia, which are known to come and go. Waiting for Gerald's return was our scientific method of fact checking. Benjamin did try to give me a stool sample to test for parasites, but without a lab and protective gloves, I refused. We had nothing but time and patience to use as tools in making a positive ID...
After a few days on the meds, Benjamin still wasn't feeling right. I asked him if he thought maybe we should go to the doctor. I suggested that perhaps his problem wasn't Giardia after all.
"I don't know what else it could possibly be," he muttered while stroking his chin. He had the air of a doctor who's built an award winning career on the study of stomach disorders.
"It could be anything," I laughed, "It's not like we even knew what Giardia was before we read about it in Lonely Planet. Do you think maybe there's a small chance there are other parasitic diseases or problems we don't know about? Hmmm?"
I left him in bed one night and came to the internet cafe to do some research. We had questions about the correct dosage of Tinidazole. The guy who sold us the medication said to take two pills a day for three days, one in the morning and one at night. But the Lonely Planet said to take 2 grams (4 pills) at once, a single dose, one day only. I found the same inconsistency on the internet amongst a number of sites (I also found a 'Giardia Club' which I have enrolled Benjamin in). So I went to the pharmacy down the street and bought some more Tinidazole, a pack that came with English instructions. Turns out Lonely Planet was correct, so Benjamin downed 4 pills before bed one evening and woke up as good as new.
I asked Benjamin to write a good-bye letter to Gerald to publish on this blog, but he's still working on it... I took a peak over his shoulder the other night and saw the first sentence:
Dear Gerald
I'm not normally one to write 'Dear John' letters, but in this case, it just seems so damn appropriate...
posted by Cheryn at 2:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home