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Sunday, September 2, 2007

Caleb's Birthday

Last Monday was Caleb's 15th birthday. Unfortunately he was very ill on his birthday. A couple of days after the shooting and the robbery Caleb contracted an amoeba. He missed one day of language school, then went the next. The following morning he made it out of the gate, but turned around and came home before he made it to school. By the time I got home from school that day he said he felt sicker than he ever had before. He looked it too. He was pasty white and had lost a good 7-10 pound that he couldn't afford to loose. We called our friend Allen over to interpret for us and called a doc. The doctor made a house call. I love that they still do that here. He told us that Caleb needed to have a blood test and also a fecal test (yea! that again) and might have to spend the night in the hospital. So we went to the clinic and he had his tests done. Thankfully the doctor let us come home to wait for the results. I was especially glad since although it was a decent clinic there were lots plenty of sick people there including one guy who was vomiting in a bucket in a side room who then tracked it across the floor leaving yucky footprints. Being the germ freak that I am I could feel germs crawling all over me. I told Joe he would really do me a favor if he would please stay the night at the clinic with Caleb if he had to be admitted. He agreed that he would. Here's a funny side story: Our friend Allen has been here in Bolivia pushing 20 years. In addition to his native English language he also speaks Spanish and Quechua. Consequently often he thinks in Spanish and sometimes has a hard time thinking of the English word. When he was telling us that Caleb might have to be admitted to the hospital, he said Caleb might have to be interred which as you know means to be buried after you die. OOPS! I have one more funny story to tell about mistakes Joe and I made in language school, but I'll finish my Caleb story first. Well, a few hours later the doctor called and said he was coming back over to give us Caleb's results. He didn't have typhoid which was great. He did have a heavy quantity of amoeba. God answered our unspoken prayers and the doc said that Caleb didn't have to be admitted (or interred for that matter). He gave him some meds that have seemed to work. He's still not totally back to his old self, but he did feel good enough to sprain his ankle in an American football game. It's all swollen and bruised as well. Never a dull moment. We are thankful to God for protecting Caleb through these last two week and we are even more thankful for the 15 years that we've shared with him. He's a great guy!

Okay, here's the funny story that happened in language school. I was supposed to describe in Spanish my class, classmates, etc. As I was nearing the end of my description I thought I would give Joe a compliment in front of the teacher and I tried to say that my classmate (Joe) was handsome. Instead I said he was fat!!! OOPS!!! I was so embarrassed as Joe and Angelica (the teacher) laughed and laughed. Well, then Joe tried to say in Spanish that he wanted a new classmate. But instead he said that he wanted a new bed-mate. OOPS for him. Angelica said she didn't want to hear anymore. We all had a good laugh that day.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Denise and our teacher laughed as if I were joking....maybe just maybe my Spanish isn't as bad as they think. Joe

Anonymous said...

So glad Caleb is doing better. I took a little Spanish in high school and to this day remember the oddest words. I know this handsome/fat story will probably end up a running joke in the family. :) Praying for you!