hospital

at home, when you get an pain that wont go away you go to your GP.

here in Cairo we dont really have such a thing. Instead you go to your nearest hospital, pay some money to see a 'gp' and do everything there.

Last night I had taken all the pain I could- for the 3rd night running I still had horrific pain in my back, to one side and was still throwing up at least twice a day. I suspected it was kidney trouble (had it once before long time ago and will never forget the pain!) and was so sick and tired of everyone saying its a cold , you just have a cold ( my granny would have called it a chill in yer kidneys) so after work ( a laughable affair with me throwing up in the toliet once my music has already started and trying to get out there and smile away the tears....) my singer drove me to a hospital in Medan Vini in Dokki.

It cost 100le to go in just to speak to the doctor on call that night ( in a mix of broken egnlish and broken arabic), and he too suspected it was just a cold! Hmmm

he did however give me an examination and 2 pain injections - 40 le. (my bum still hurts from those!!!!_

Then I had to go upstairs to give a urine sample- which was analyises right there and then for 50le total.

Within minutes the results howed it was in fact kidney infection (possible a stone- but have to go back at end of the week for that x-ray) and I was bundled off home with 4 perscriptions for antibiotics etc etc which came to the total of 50 le.

so- as much as I love the NHS in UK, and yes it is free- I would not have got that all dealt with within and hour or so back home!

So today i am home feeling sorry for myself and popping drugs all day. trying not to throw up (failed twice this morning) and thinking about packing my bags for my flight to Sharm tomorrow morning to go visit my sister who is on holiday there for next 3 days. wish I felt better... but guess I can rest there as well as I can rest here- its just the travel I am not looking fwd to!

so apologies to all of you who have emailed me in the last couple of weeks... what with the scotland trip, then back straight into work, then siwa, and now sick then sharm- I've beeen really lazy with the emails- bare with me.... I promise I am not ignoring you all!

off to bed now............ for a little while before I actually pack!