Out of the Rainforest and Into the ER

It's Mama Kat's Writers Workshop today! I haven't participated for a few weeks, but I'm back!

The Prompt:
1.) Your trip to the ER...spill it.(inspired by Stephanie from This Blessed Life).

During the few years I spent living in a Costa Rican rainforest, I visited the ER a few times. A trip to the ER wasn't particularly easy as you'll see from my story below (true story):

I was a typical young woman denying discomfort 'down there' after using the outdoors for my outhouse during the night for several weeks. My little hut that I lived in by myself was a good 3-4 minute walk through the rainforest to the nearest outhouse. I loved hiking through the forest at night, and often did it without my flashlight, but I didn't really enjoy going to the outhouse because of its inhabitants: scorpions, spiders, mice, and bats. I always managed to pick up a hitchhiker on me when I did go there and did not like the company back at my hut.

So after peeing and such outside in the black darkness for many weeks, I got a bladder infection, which I ignored. I was invincible as everyone is at 23 years old.

The pain around my middle got so bad that one morning I couldn't get out of bed. My absence was noted in the local research station where I was volunteering as a naturalist. Soon my little hut of 5 feet by 8 feet was bursting of Costa Rican mothers, babbling away and feeling my forehead and abdomen. Eventually a tea of rainforest plants (I think they used over 20 different species in it) was handed over to me. I prayed it wouldn't poison me, and sure enough, it brought me enough relief that I managed to get out of bed and amble down the small trail through the rainforest.

My destination: a taxi. It had descended the mountain from a town one hour away and driven to me on a narrow road puckered with potholes and dotted with horse and cow pies. I climbed inside and began the 5 hour journey out of the rainforest to San Jose, Costa Rica.

The ER of my choosing was a private one and upon my admission I tried to find a way to say in Spanish that I faint every time my blood is drawn, but my limitation with the language failed me and the doctors went crazy when I toppled over.

When I woke up a few minutes later I was well on my way to recovery as they started the meds. I stayed at the ER for a few days and paid a total of $115 (and that wasn't even required given their socialized medicine).

Meanwhile my parents back in Memphis had telephoned the research station to just check in with me. One of the other naturalists, the one who was high on marijuana the entire time, happened to answer the phone.

"May I speak with Kimberly?" my mother asked.
"She's like sick, at the hospital," answered the naturalist.
"What? Is she okay?"
Click. Like many days and nights, the power was lost in the rainforest due to strong winds and buckets and buckets of rain. And the phone went out.

An hour later (and three glasses of wine according to my dad), my mom reached the station again. This time the station director, an elderly science professor, answered the phone.

"What's wrong with my daughter Kimberly?" my mom bellowed.
"Why nothing's wrong with her. She's a lovely young girl. Hard working naturalist and she..."
"I know that. I mean what's wrong with her PHYSICALLY?"
"Oh, she's at the hospital getting treated for a bladder infection. She'll be okay. Do you want the hospital's phone number?"

My mother survived (with an additional few white hairs). I survived. But it wasn't the last time I'd see the inside of that ER.