Life in the JungILL

Well, my Amazonian adventure of 5 days and 4 nights ended up being cut short by 4 days and 3 nights.  I spent more time in transit from Iquitos to Muyuna Lodge (3 hours up the Amazon River) than I did in the rainforest.  On the evening of the 18th, I started to feel queasy and told my tour guide, Larissa, about it.  We had just finished a 3 hour hike through the Amazon which was AMAZING.  I will post pictures later.  I told her that it was probably no big deal, but that I just had an overall sick feeling.  She pointed out the nearest bathroom in case I needed it.  I said I was sure I would be okay.  Ten minutes later I was calling Uncle Ralph on the big white phone in my bungalow's bathroom.  I proceeded to puke every 20-30 minutes for the next 14 hours.  They tried giving me a pill to stop the puking, but it lasted less than 5 minutes in my stomach before I puked it up.  They tried having me rub Vicks Vapo Rub on my stomach (not sure why), drink Gatorade, drink some nasty, thick, anise-flavored substance like PediaSure or PediaLite, but absolutely nothing was working.  I asked my tour guide, who had suddenly become my personal caregiver, if she could at least bring me a three-toed sloth to keep me company through the night.  She just laughed.  I wasn´t kidding.  Her bungalow was right next to mine, so she would wake up every time she heard me puke (it was quite loud, but I couldn´t help it) and come over to check on me.  She got very little sleep that night, which I feel horrible about. 
Thoughts started running through my mind, i.e. how I was going to get the medical attention I apparently needed.  I was three hours away from the nearest city, a small town accessible only by plane or boat.  I could not even fathom getting up to go to the bathroom, much less getting up to walk down to the boat to get out of there.  I was weaker than I´ve ever been, and wanted nothing more than to be back home.  I asked about the possibility of helicoptering me to Iquitos.  Again, they thought I was joking. 
By the next morning, realizing that I was showing no signs of improvement, they packed up all my stuff for me and practically carried me down to the boat.  They had prepared a bed with a mattress and pillow in between seats of the boat, and I lay there the entire trip.  They covered me with a blanket, and it was really quite comfortable.  Thank God I did not get seasick, because that would have resulted in even more vomiting. 
About 30 minutes into the trip (or something- I wasn't quite coherent at that point), it started raining (this is the rainforest, after all).  They covered me completely with a tarp, and, laying there in the enclosure, I couldn't help but feel like I was laying in a coffin.  It was a terrible feeling.  Some time later, the police stopped our boat.  The people from the lodge told them what they were doing.  Probably suspecting them of drug trafficking, the police asked for evidence.  The lodge workers pulled the tarp up and I gazed at them with sickly eyes and gaunt face.  The moment the police saw me, they waved us on.  Although I hadn't looked in a mirror in a while, I could tell by their reaction that I wasn't looking too hot. 
Another boat (a speed boat, which would get me into town faster) met up with us eventually, and I transferred over to it.  Realizing that time was of the essence, I tried making this transfer on my own.  Bad idea.  With such poor motor control, stepping from one boat to the other resulted in pushing the two away from each other.  I looked down to see nothing but Amazon River below me, complete with piranhas and black caiman.  Fortunately I was pulled onto the speed boat by whoever had been driving it.  Uf-duh.  
Finally we arrived to the shore of Iquitos, and then the insurmountable task of climbing about 4 flights of stairs.  I had to stop three times on the way, despite help from a man from the lodge.  It was like climbing the Spanish Steps in Italy- crowded, with everyone staring at la gringa who obviously was not doing well.  Finally made it up the stairs, was taken to the emergency room, and all sorts of samples were taken from me.  They gave me an IV as I was severely dehydrated, and also a sedative (which was TOTALLY unnecessary, as I was already almost completely out of it).  Stayed there for I don´t know how many hours, sleeping most of the time.  Was awoken by the doctor coming in to tell me, "I have good news.  There's nothing wrong with you."  HA!  Funny.  I was too weak and sedated to tell him how I really felt about that news, so I just went back to sleep.  Trying to get me to get up from that bed and go out to the van was like Mission: Impossible.  Then, on the way back to the hostal, they kept trying to make me drink that thick, nasy, anise-flavored liquid when all I wanted was water.  Finally made it up to the hostal room, and barely even remember falling into bed and conking out for the next however many hours. 
Today, I´m feeling a bit more like a human being.  I´m still exhausted, and my body aches all over from puking so many times.  But, I made it out of the jungle alive, and I will now be a lot more careful about what I eat and drink. 
The people from the lodge were total saints to take care of me as well as they did.  Seriously, my life and all of my possessions were in their hands for a while, and they did a fabulous job of taking care of everything.  They continue to check up on me at the hostal and do whatever it is that I need to have done for me.  I´m lucky!  Hopefully the rest of this trip brings better health.  I hope you´re all doing well.