I gather from television, the internet, and newspapers that the U.S. is endeavoring to conduct a census. All the imploring, cajoling, and pleading of citizens to join the effort is seen as a bit peculiar down here where today, Sunday May 16th, is census day in Panama. Panama cuts right through all the cajoling. The entire country has shut down–no supermarkets, gas stations, restaurants, even churches are open. And people are confined to their homes until such time as a census worker appears. Panama does it all in one day. Census workers swarm across the countryside like a horde of army ants, visit every residence and non-residence, and no one is free to peregrinate until issued written permission to do so after completion of the lengthy questionnaire. To be apprehended out and about without such permission results in detainment, fine, and confiscation of vehicle, if a vehicle is employed in the escape effort. There’s been a lot of uncertainty expressed by those who plan to arrive in or depart from the country today, as well about those simply visiting and likely to be out walking about without notice. It’ll be interesting to see what develops. Because I had done my homework, our visit required only ten minutes. I had planned to spend a large portion of the day catching up on business requiring the Internet, but the Internet went down early and the electricity has been off and on. One can only hope that arrangements were made to have essential services employees on the job today.
It’s been an action-filled few weeks. Larry’s two-week dengue fever run ended with him being sicker than ever, requiring a return visit to the downtown doctor. A blood test revealed him to be free of dengue but still with a very bad blood count and likely suffering from some form of viral malady. La doctora thought perhaps mononucleosis and told him to go home and wait another week. When he was worse than ever the next day, however, we opted to travel to David to see an immunologist, Dr. Cesar De Gracia. He was alarmed by the blood tests and admitted Larry to the hospital forthwith to undergo a series of tests. Larry's first night there he suffered two seizures, which prompted an MRI the next morning. It came up negative, so the speculation was an electrolyte imbalance brought about by three weeks of vomiting and diarrhea. He remained hospitalized for three days on oxygen and two IVs, and a hematologist was brought in. She had a specialized blood test done and reported that it revealed signs of hepatitis C which, of course, he was treated for and cleared of about ten years ago with five subsequent years of annual checks. That explained nothing really as Hepatitis C is largely symptom free until it completely destroys the liver, so we were back to assuming that the dengue had played havoc with his immune system in some nefarious way. In any event, he’s been home for over a week and has improved every day. He’s pretty much back to normal now and paying close attention to eating well. A follow-up blood test yesterday revealed the platelets pretty much back to normal and the Hep C viral count very low, perhaps even just leftover traces. We intend to visit a gastroenterologist soon to follow up on this, but the local doctor believes the count to be too low to require treatment. That would be a blessing, as the treatment was a real bear, you may recall. (The entire hospital bill for three days–including two doctors and an MRI–was less than $1000.)
I am the proud recipient of the inaugural “Garden of the Month” award from the local garden club and have a sign in my front yard to prove it. Since almost all houses are off the beaten path, it’s questionable how much exposure such an award will bring, but the garden club felt that it would give all gardeners something to aspire to. Speaking of gardening, Edwin and I took Friday off and drove to Guadalupe, an extension of Cerro Punta on the other side of the volcano, to visit Finca Dracula, a world famous orchid destination. The name comes from the Dracula species of orchids, which vaguely resemble bats. Finca Dracula allegedly has the finest collection of Draculas there is, as well as hundreds of other orchid varieties. But we went primarily to see the newly-landscaped grounds, which were spectacular. On the way we dropped in on Carla Black in Volcan, a worldwide expert in heliconias and waterlillies, and toured her magnificent garden. Carla and her husband, Angel, travel throughout South America in seek of undiscovered heliconias, bring them back to Volcan, and propagate them. She has a sale in June, at which time they are mobbed by plant collectors. (I bought eight heliconias last year, most of which are blooming now.) Edwin has been redoing various areas of our garden and came back richly inspired. And we drove, for the first time, the Ruta Sur (southern route), a brand new road between Potrerillos and Volcan, cutting the time by about 45 minutes each way. Because there was very little traffic, it was tranquil. Winding first through citrus groves and then the mountains, the route was lovely and blessedly cool, unlike before when it was necessary to go to David and travel the Interamerican Highway through the lowlands before going back up into the mountains.
The trip was a welcome getaway from Larry’s medical woes and the almost constant work on the Bid4Boquete auction. My e-mails on the auction now number in the hundreds, and I’m obliged to attend at least two meetings per week. We secured a $5000 corporate sponsorship from Banco General and two other $1000 business sponsorships. We’ve catalogued every business in Boquete and many in David and surrounding areas and have assigned persons to solicit them for donation of goods, services, and/or money. The Publicity Committee, comprised of two women who worked in corporate publicity and fundraising in New York and Florida, have given us an ambitious plan which has us beating the bushes daily for volunteers to take on the many activities they envision. It’s to the point of getting out of hand, but I think we’re going to astound the community with the amount of money we raise. Auction proceeds are earmarked for the new library, food drives for the elderly and incapacitated, school programs, water systems for rural areas, and handicapped equipment and programs.
On the home front, no truce has been negotiated between Felipe and Kitty Kitty, but their altercations now are taking more the form of games than serious confrontations. One (usually Kitty Kitty) will lurk behind something until the other passes by, whereupon the lurker springs out in challenge mode. It can be startling, but is immensely entertaining. Felipe is getting healthier every day and finally is showing a lot of personality. We’ve both become quite fond of him. Interestingly, he pees in the house occasionally, but always squeezes through the gate and goes off the property to poop.
I’m making preparations for the trip home and am really looking forward to it. Everybody is on notice to sift through your stories of the past three years and be ready with the best ones for me.
And check out new pix on Flickr under Bonnie in Boquete.
