Get Tom the help he needs.

 

What a beautiful place with even more beautiful.people. Even though there was and is a language challenge it was so easy to make friends with the warm hearted sincerely giving people. Then the pandemic hit and the world here turned upside down. Most people lost their jobs; no money, no food yet had families to support. This is when I learned how special they are. The theme with all the people here is "It's ok, we will overcome this."...and they do. I've never seen anything like it. The situation may be depressing but their attitude never was.

 

I spent each month helping as many new friends that I could until.my monthly budget was spent....sometimes too early. I thought if they can go weeks even months without fulfilling their needs, at least I can go days. But in my heart I was so sad. I've never seen so many families go without eating...sometimes multiple days. I would try to have weekly gatherings so we could all cook together and enjoy meals. 

 

I can't explain how fulfilling my life is even through the hardships. But it is the kids that received most of my attention.I could tell endless stories about taking them to the beach, teaching them how to shoot a basketball and to many, how to play baseball.I really don't know who had more fun...them or me.

 

I went to the hardware store to buy supplies to finish putting up an old basketball goal. I reached up for something when a board fell down scraping my leg. No big deal. I'll just clean it and put a bandage on it. A few days later it became infected. A Dr gave me a prescription and said it would clear up in 3-5 days. A week.latet I was at the hospital. They injected a stronger antibiotic and said in 6 days it would be fine. A week later I was off to a modern hospital in a large city 5 hours away. I was given an estimate what the surgery would cost and it was expensive, but I brought what was needed. Before they were going to admit me I had to pay the cost of the emergency room...it was everything I had.and to be honest they did nothing except covid 19 stuff. Because I had no more money they dismissed me at 11:00 pm and had to go. Don't know where I was going because it was too late to find away home. On top of that I could no longer walk. They wheeled me out and said goodbye. What they didn't know is they didn't get all of my money. I worked a deal with a cab driver to take me home. 5 hours later I struggled to make it home. 

 

I had no other options to fix my infections and found them getting worse each day. One side of my leg has a grapefruit size cyst that is very tender and painful. The other side was worse. The infection was coming through the skin with a dark smelly deadline appearance. The pain could get unbearable but my major concern there was nothing I could do. Soon sepsis would take over then I was through. I might as well find a part of the bed that was clean and wait for death to arrive.

 

That's when I said to myself. Are you crazy? Are you going to give up that easily? Make a plan and make it work. After a seed was planted for a chance to fight this I decided the only way I can make this happen is with help. I don't know if I can, but damn if I'm going to continue to lay in this bed and not try.

 

So there is my story.