We had been looking forward to traveling internationally with the kids since our summer adventures to Japan were cancelled in 2019 due to COVID. We've been getting out of dodge each summer since COVID started with epic domestic camping road trips but the itch to go abroad this year was strong, so we landed on Costa Rica.
Then two weeks before school ended Mike got COVID. Then I got COVID. We both missed the last week of school, which was a bummer. Then Sybil got sick, then Parker got sick. They rotated vomiting for a few days, with a few other symptoms. We think, "it's gotta be COVID, right?" They continue to test negative for COVID, and we hear that one of Sybil's classmates has rotavirus, so maybe it's that? Parker continues to vomit sporadically. Then I read that a batch of HEB strawberries was infected with Hep A, and I'm certain I bought and froze those strawberries, and Parker has been chowing down on them for weeks. She spends most of the night vomiting 2 days before we are supposed to leave for Costa Rica, and now has been complaining of abdominal pain for 5 days. We're spooked, and we get her tested for Hep A the day before we leave.
With low energy from COVID and the threat of Parker being really sick, we are suddenly dreading a trip that we had been looking forward to for months. She seems to be improving, so we decide to go anyways and if she's positive for Hep A, just keep an eye out (there's no treatment, it's not easily contagious, she was vaccinated against it, and you basically just wait it out).
No one had vomited for at least 36 hours when this was taken, so we were feeling confident and excited on our way to the airport!
We're almost to the point of everyone carrying their own stuff!! Big time.
First time everyone is in their own seats! They enjoyed the snacks and beverages, listening to the Descendants soundtrack, looking out the window, and flying through the clouds!
It's raining when we arrive in Costa Rica, and the girls are exhausted. Parker has been complaining that her stomach hurts for a few hours, it's distended and hard, and she violently vomits on the door step to the hotel the minute we arrive. We call our people for advice, but we're scared and very wary of navigating a foreign medical system. So, we make a shitty decision that Mike and Parker will fly back to Houston on the 3:00 a.m. flight to seek immediate medical attention.
Sybil and I will wait in the hotel for another day for word. If it's good news, we'll do a seriously shortened trip and come back early; bad news means we fly home that next afternoon to join them back in Texas. Mike buys the tickets, then I see an email from her pediatrician that said the lab did the wrong Hep A test, and she might not have Hep A (it picked up her antibodies from her vaccination). We're still worried, since she's clearly sick, and don't regret our decision.
Mike and Parker flying back to Houston in the middle of the night after spending a whopping 6 hours in Costa Rica. Clearly feeling better, Parker was just excited to get to ride on a plane again and slept most of the way back.
Sybil and I had to spend another night in the hotel by the airport waiting for news to determine if we stay and do a truncated trip, or come home asap.
We whiled away the time watching the parakeets outside our window, walking around the hotel looking at the awesome and different plants, and trying the exciting new fruits in the hotel breakfast (grenadilla is a big thumbs up for Syb).
We also ventured out in our rental car to the local mall in search of a car adapter for our wifi hotspot, and accidentally came across the town center of Alajuela, which I've read a lot about in the awesome book Costa Rica Reader: History, Culture, and Politics that a coworker passed on to me. We found a playground, a famous statue, and bakery in the town square. But I was mostly proud of myself for navigating, driving, and parking (incomprehensible). Sybil most enjoyed going up and down the escalators in the mall and eating meat soup in the food court.
We also updated our travel journals with the mundane things we were doing that no one cares about except for us, much like I've done with this blog post.
Meanwhile Mike was driving Parker back to Austin for a pediatrician visit since our insurance isn't taken outside of Central Texas, and he called us with the results.
Parker was full of poop. She was severely constipated. The doctor ordered an all liquid and laxative diet for the next 1-3 days, so it turned out to be a good thing that they were home.
Sybil and I would forge onward and, if it all went well with Parker, we talked about them returning to meet up with us in a week (thanks to points from our airline credit card).
1 comment:
Whoa what a story. I am as always, impressed by y’all’s fortitude and perseverance!
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