A while back, Shawn complained about his ear. Upon checking it, we saw something that looked like a thick hair but made of plastic was stuck to his ear drum.
I tried flushing his ear. We’ve had to flush his ears before numerous times because he has too much wax build up, and it can completely block his ears. But I could not get the small irritant out.
With more time, he complained that it was bothering him, and we could see the irritation, so we made plans to go to the doctor in Cusco. Since it would be a Cusco trip, Steph decided to go for an eye checkup for new glasses. And since she was going, we decided to have Anne’s eyes checked again.
So, off they went today. They left before chores were done so they could get to the office at 8:30 when it opened. The idea was to avoid lines and to save time. It didn’t quite work.
The nurse checked them in and took Shawn’s vitals and so on and had them wait in the hall for the doctor. Which they did for quite a long while. Finally, Steph asked if they were waiting at the right door because all the lights were off in the doctor’s office.
The nurse hurriedly said she’d call him. He hadn’t arrived yet. Fifteen minutes or so later, the doctor walked in off the street and thanked Steph for waiting. He checked Shawn’s ear and said the ear doctor would have to take care of it. He wasn’t in yet this morning, but he should be by 11:30.
Steph went and ahead and made appointments for the eye doctor in the meantime. Then they had time to kill. At long last, they were able to see the ear doctor. They flushed Shawn’s ear a couple times and finally got the foreign object out. They prescribed antibiotic drops for the irritation.
Next, Steph and Anne went ahead with their eye checkups. They wanted to dilate Anne’s eyes, but they told her she had to keep them closed until the doctor arrived. That was over half an hour later, during which Anne fell asleep.
With the afternoon here, hopes of saving time were long past. They did get the glasses ordered. Steph had trouble trying to pay for them because she was unfamiliar with the term cancelado and thought the receptionist was trying to cancel her order. The term means to pay for your order, which Steph kept insisting she didn’t want to do, instead asking if she could pagar (another way of saying “pay”) for them. She was able to laugh about it this evening.
Their “quick” appointments over, they got lunch and made a trip to the bank for me. We don’t have a branch of our bank in Izcuchaca. A little shopping later, and they were on the way home, arriving around 5:00.
Steph had the foresight to pick up supper in town, so that saved us the work here. I drove out to the road to pick her up where the combi dropped her off.
One stop she was able to make was at the post office. Behold! The box her sisters sent months ago finally showed up. It is stamped as having arrived in Cusco on November 9, but it was “lost” inside the post office up until now. It apparently made really good time, arriving less than two weeks after it was sent, but then it was misplaced.
We had fun opening the package and seeing what trinkets were sent along months ago. Thankfully, there was no cheese in it or something like that. Can you imagine if we’d found something rotten!
Thanks to my sisters-in-law for sharing! You brought surprise joy to Steph after a long (and frustrating?) day.
Juan David 