i was at work then. i did not really leave my desk for about 3 hours. and i thought that was the cause. there was a sort of creeping little pain inside my lower back. i must be hungry i thought. i went out for lunch. but when i came back it was still there. tolerable though. i went on with my training session in the afternoon.
that night i made sure to have a good night rest. the next day, i woke up better but still some pain in my left. maybe it was just some sleeping cramp i thought. went to work. had lunch. this time, it was intolerable i had to see my doctor. so i did.
i asked my counterpart to start my afternoon training session, and promised to be back right away.
my doctor gave me some pain relievers. i went back for my training but had to leave earlier because i started feeling feverish.
i had fever that night that i had to take some antipyretic tablets. the fever did not last very long. but still i had pain. in the morning i had fever again. i called my doctor and suggested to go for lab tests. she agreed but since it was almost midday (i had eaten a bit and needed to fast for the blood tests), i thought it best to do the tests the next day.
i had my lab tests til noontime. i went even for ultrasound and xray. it was found out my left kidney was irregular in shape. it seemed swollen. my accompanying doctor and the local urologist suggested for immediate confinement and a procedure to be done in the afternoon. this was a friday and everything has to be arranged soon because the medical specialists usually leave early before the end of the day.
i called my country director right away and told her about my case. it is not really recommended for volunteers to be 'going under the knife' locally unless in emergency cases requiring immediate medical care. she asked if i want to get a second opinion from sos medica mongolia (which is a stand-alone clinic known for expat services). i agreed. it was almost 2 pm.
i was asked to have tests for my blood and urine again. the doctor diagnosed me to have an inflamed left kidney and suspected i might have multi-abscesses. i had to be admitted right away and had to be administered some fluids in my body. i was dehydrated. also i was given antibiotics to take care of my infection. this time, they started making arrangements for my flight to have proper medical care outside of mongolia: seoul, bangkok or manila...
i started informing my volunteer colleagues. my colleagues at secure livelihood had just arrived in uverkhangai aimag, bit down south of the capital, for a networking conference. i was supposed to be with them but unsure of my health status that day, i did not go on the trip. also i did not want to inconvenience the group just in case i got worst. it was a wise decision though.
i spent the night in the clinic. i had a nurse and a doctor around as well. i tried having some chicken soup for supper but it caused me some abdominal pain, that i refrained from eating anything solid after that. the next day, i opted for tea and crackers.
it took a day for the insurance to sort everything for my trip going out of mongolia. it was decided that i will be leaving for seoul, south korea for a better and clearer medical assessment of my case.
saturday, i left mongolia past midnight. transportation to the airport was an ambulance. i was flown via korean air business class. a mongolian doctor from the clinic accompanied me on the flight to seoul. we had monitoring device and other emergency equipment with us although the flight was only going to be for about 3 hours.
went to terelj on a saturday with the newly arrived batch of volunteers. there were 3 of us old-timers who joined the group. almost the end of summer, yet it was raining the whole night before our departure, and still was until late morning. david, gek and i walked to the office, through the rain and puddles. we reached the office with half-drenched trousers, which is why when we arrived at the ger camp, david and i had to wear improvised blanket skirts as we hang dried our pants by the fire.
with marielle, a dutch volunteer who just came back for a short-term placement. she is a nurse.
with the new volunteers by the river
two women (leslie and gek)
one hour from UB
