Allergy Update (July 2003)

Because I've received some concerned e-mails. . .

I'm doing fine in regards to the allergy stuff. The
doctor gave me some pills to take for a few days, and
the lump in my throat went away nicely after about
twenty-four hours. My old roommate Dave (who goes
back to USA tomorrow to attend Medical School at . . .
I think Columbia in NYC), asked one of his doctor
friends about my allergy and she told him that an
allergy to the noodles I ate on Wednesday, and a shock
reaction like I had, is a common enough occurrence.
I'll also tell you what I hear from the allergy
specialist on Monday as soon as possible.

Regarding my ankle, the ligament that got pulled was
one associated with my fibula, not my tibia. The
fibula is the smaller of the two lower leg bones, and
it is NOT the weight-bearing bone; its purpose is more
for support and maybe balance. That means that now, a
week after my injury (almost exactly), I can walk with
barely a limp, and I only feel pain when I've climbed
too many stairs or bent my foot in a direction it
doesn't like. So within a week I am back on my feet
and (almost) as mobile as ever. I won't attack any
hiking trails yet, but my coworker (who recently ALSO
injured his ankle) agrees that I was really lucky as
ankle injuries go.

So things are going well; I have a vial of epinephrine
(adrenaline) and a syringe that the doctors gave me on
Wednesday so that if I have another allergic reaction
I can inject myself instead of first going to the
hospital. I feel a lot better having that on hand,
even though I'm now one of those people who has to
carry a vial of adrenaline with him in case things get
out of hand. But on Monday or Tuesday they'll give me
a list of things not to eat and you may never hear
about it again, so that's good.

The two new teachers at our school are remarkable.
They arrived on Tuesday night from Toronto Ontario and
Hull Quebec and on Friday night, because they have a
week off before classes start, they decided to buy
tickets to Bangkok leaving on Saturday! They also
headed out into Seoul on their own, armed with nothing
but the Korean phrase book they bought, and ran a
single errand on their own which is quite impressive
for the first week. They were sad not to finish all
seven errands they had meant to accomplish, but it
took me a week to buy shampoo when I got here (only to
find out at the pharmacy that the Korean word for
shampoo is . . . "shampoo"), so I think they'll do
just fine.

Anyway, I have to buy a going away present for my
roommate.

Thanks for your concern, and I'll write you again once
I've seen the allergy specialist.

God Bless
Rob Ouwehand