Our first trip to the "Ziekenhuis" (hospital)

Early yesterday evening Andrew sent me a text message saying he was coming home a little early because he was feeling sick.  I called him and he said he had chills and was feeling like he was getting a fever. When he got home he was shaking, but didn't have a fever. About two hours later he was feeling worse, so I took his temperature and it was around 99.9 F. He didn't want to have to go to the emergency room, so we stayed home. About an hour later his temperature was up to 101 F......so we thought we'd better go to the doctor. In the meantime he told me he was having other problems that led us both to believe he had a urinary tract infection. Knowing those won't go away without antibiotics, we thought we'd better bite the bullet and go to the hospital. By now it was around 10:00 p.m.

We called our friend Louise, who didn't pick up right away.....so we called our other friend Bruce. He suggested the Spaarne Ziekenhuis. Right after speaking with him Louise called back and suggested going to the Kennemer Gasthuis Zuid. She has had (sadly, but fortunately for us) experience with the hospital and said she's had nothing but good experiences there. Sooooo, that's where we decided to go. Our insurance would be accepted at either facility.

We arrived there around 10:40 p.m. Andrew was able to drive there....thank goodness!  I haven't been behind the wheel at all here, and hope I never have to!  There's just too much going on while trying to drive here, people walking, bicycles, scooters, tons of traffic, etc.......

We parked the car in the regular parking lot and then looked for the Emergency Room. While walking around the facility we saw a large sign and started walking towards it thinking that musssst be it! It was a large white cross with a red background and the word "SPOEDPOST" underneath it. We went inside and checked in. They advised us it would be about an hour wait.

After about two hours they called Andrew in to speak with the doctor. They had done a litmus test already and found it to be negative for an infection. So, he said he may have a problem with his prostate. Lucky him......had to get that checked out!  Hmmmm, negative problem there.....soooo, back to square one. Another litmus test and voila....urinary tract infection. They apparently read the previous too quickly and missed it!

The doctor prescribed antibiotics and we were sent on our way to pick them up. The pharmacy (Apotheek) was closed at that facility due to renovations, so we were sent to the Kennemer Gasthuis Noord (north end of Haarlem). We drove over, picked up the prescription and got home around 1:30 a.m. Three hours for a trip to the emergency room wasn't too bad I guess. Everyone we dealt with was very nice and helpful.

Today he is still feeling ill, but was able to do some work from home. He was without fever most of the day, but had the chills off and on throughout the day. We just took his temperature again, and it's back up to 102 F. Hmmmmm, hope we don't have to make another trip to the hospital tonight or tomorrow...

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I wasn't able to get to sleep last night till after 3:00 a.m. I woke up around 8:30 this morning knowing it was going to be a rough day. When I don't get enough sleep my dizziness gets so bad I can barely function, especially if I have to go out of the house. I did have to take a walk to a couple of stores for groceries. I had to walk very very slowly because I was so dizzy from not getting enough rest. The rain, the crowds, and the unevenness and patterns of the cobblestones just put me over the edge......I felt like turning around before I even left our street. Someday I hope these symptoms will go away...but I've been living with it so long I know when it's going to be bad. I probably should have just stayed home and waited till tomorrow. Only problem is Saturdays are always so much busier in town.......but I can deal with it much better when I'm rested.