Kindness in Foz de iguacu

Our arrival in South America was both exciting and excruciating. Exciting because I have never been in South America before and I was beyond excited to finally, FINALLY be here. Excruciating because on the 11 hour plane flight over I developed extreme sinus pain and a pounding headache. Plane rides are already so fun themselves, so why not add in a bit more spice? By the time we were ready to land, I couldn't open my jaw more than 1/4 of an inch, I couldn't chew on my left side, and I thought my head might actually explode from the pain. Above and below my eye, and basically the whole left side of my face was sore to the touch. Ouch.

Landing in a new country with a new language, going through immigration, finding our shuttle, all of these things are stressful in and of themselves. Now try to do it while someone is hitting your head repeatedly with a hammer. That's about the feeling I had on arrival in São Paulo. Paul, my angel, tried his best to use the information I had and talk to people to get us where we needed to go. If the suspense is killing you, we did eventually make it to our shuttle and airport hotel. I dug straight into my big bag of meds and took all the pain relievers, sinus clearers, and sprays I could get my hands on. The meds made everything slightly less painful, but not enough. 

The next morning came too soon as we were to go back to the airport to fly to Iguazu Falls. The pain had gotten worse if anything, but at least I could keep taking pain medication to dull the thudding a bit. The worst part was that I couldn't eat, as I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to get anything in or chew. Another flight (I slept the whole way) and we were at Iguazu Falls! Due to my pain, we took a taxi instead of trying to navigate the public bus system. I spent the whole first day 1) trying to withdraw money from the bank and 2) curled on my bed, taking medication and just hoping for the pain to stop. 

Well all my hoping was for nothing, as the next morning I woke up just as bad as I had been before. Pushing through the hammering, throbbing, jaw-aching pain, I first said we should just see the falls, despite the pain. Then I said we should maybe go see a pharmacist or a doctor as I didn't seem to be getting better. After speaking with our reception about what my problem was, and long discussions with writing things down, and rapid Portuguese, one of the nice young ladies volunteered to walk me to the medical center across the street to help translate. She turned out to be my angel, as she stayed with us from check in at the medical center (giving her address and phone number for us), talking to the doctor (who barely looked at me or listened of her), to the pharmacy where she spoke with them at length to be sure we understood how to take the medication. She said she was just happy to help, as it was so difficult being in a different country where you didn't know the language. 

A few hours after I started the medication, my pain started to finally, blissfully reduce. Apparently my sinuses had inflamed so much that I ended up with a trapped nerve! I still have a slight ache on one side, but we are hoping that will go away in time. I am so grateful to have my health back and for the kind people who helped me along the way. 

My helper, Caro. Thank you!