Our adventures have come to a screeching halt. After first noticing her headache and fever on Tuesday morning, Ivy seemed to be improving on Tuesday night. Her temperature was down on Wednesday morning and she had only vomited the one time.
I was not able to reschedule our HanoiKids tour so Olivia and I went on the tour while Sandy and Ivy stayed at the hotel to lay low. Thuy, the HanoiKids representative, took us to a ceramics handicraft village, Bat Trang, about 40 minutes away. We visited various locations to observe the process of making ceramics including an artist's home. We also had the opportunity to throw our own product on a potters' wheel and paint it. Before painting, we left them to dry while we toured the ceramics market. Olivia was especially hot and sweaty and sat near a fan and had a cool drink. It was interesting to experience the Vietnamese version of our "As You Wish" outings. Instead of choosing an item that is all ready to "paint," we were able to make it ourselves. The potters' wheel required our physical efforts to keep it spinning by hand. It was soothing to spend time working the clay with our hands. We aren't planning to be in town long enough to leave them to be finished in the kiln.
When we returned from the tour, Ivy's temperature was up again. I took her to the International SOS clinic for an appointment at 5 PM. At that time, she was almost due for another dose of Tylenol. Her temperature was 41.3 degrees Celsius when we arrived there (106.3 F). They gave her an IV of sodium chloride solution for hydration (for four hours) and used it to draw blood and give her medication. The test results were consistent with a gastro-intestinal bacterial infection. They prescribed antibiotics and we returned to the hotel. It was notable that the bill was 17 million dollars (Vietnamese dollars or dong) = $710 US dollars.
She seems to be improving after one day on the antibiotic as her temperature was normal most of the day, but it also seems to be causing her some additional gastro-intestinal side effects (vomiting). The hotel staff has been kind and brings us bananas to calm her digestive system. I've had lots of time to catch up on posting photos. Today (Thursday, June 24th), Sandy took Olivia out for lunch, for ice cream, and then to swim in the hotel pool while I stayed in the room with Ivy. This evening I took Olivia for dinner, shopping, and a cyclo ride around Hoan Kiem Lake while Sandy stayed with Ivy. I regret that we aren't getting to see much of the city. It appears to be fascinating, vibrant, and culturally rich during our short outings.
No comments:
Post a Comment