Lisa & Brad in Peru 2014: STOS

Sorry to Over Share

I thought it might be fun to begin writing about the spectacular and nonsensical dreams I had over the two nights I spent in the Public Clinica in Puna, Peru. I also want to preserve them before they fade in my memory. They are in no particular order but why would order matter when discussing nonsense? I'm sure a psycology professional would have fun with these. Have at it. 😵

Dream 1

I am sleeping in my "private room" in the clinica. Suddenly I receive a strong electrical shock which sends me into spasms on my bed. They make me strike the back of my head against the rock-hard bed. Picture a patient with the rigid paralysis of tetanus: back arched to the breaking point, jaw clenched shut, bones snapping from the force of the spasms. While I writhe in pain, I feel something, an animal of some sort (it's too dark to make out any detail except for the neon green eyes), is pulling me from the bed to the floor. I am unable to resist but finally the shock ends and I pull myself away. I don't think it would have ended well for me if the animal, or demon, or whatever it was, had been successful. I try to scream out in pain and fear and for help but no sound escapes my mouth. The spasm ends and I gasp for breath. A few moments later, it happens again. And again.

Dream 2

This begins with me walking from our room to the lobby at Hotel Casa Andena Private Collection in Urubamba (In the Sacred Valley). I am in my nightgown. (STOS) I am going to purchase a couple bottles of water to get through the evening. It is around mid-night but there a quire a few people moving around the property. I am enjoying the walk and the mild weather.

I arrive at the lobby and I'm met by many startled looks but I genuinely don't understand the problem. The hotel manager wraps a blanket around me and ushers me away to... Hmm, it gets fuzzy here. I also can't recall if I got the water. That's the significant part of this dream. Um, right?

Dream 3

Brace yourself for this one. I dreamed that in Peru I was not allowed to flush paper, OF ANY SORT, down the toilet. Instead I had to place it into a small receptacle next to the toilet. That receptacle was not emptied even once during my stay at the clinica. Oh, wait! That WASN'T a dream! STOS. I remembered to comply approximately about 80% of the time. Again, STOS.

Dream 4

Seriously, I have no clue where this came from...

This just sorta begins. Initially I'm not a participant in this craziness but rather I am watching the sitcom Modern Family on TV. The two young male characters, Luke and Manny are arguing. Luke kills Manny in a fit of rage. He stabs him and dices him into stew-sized pieces. (No Doctor, I'd rather not talk about it). Remember, I'm watching this unfold on TV and it is not the "turn of plot" I'd expect to see on Modern Family.

After a commercial break comes a new scene. The show sponsor this evening is Inka Cola. Luke has transported "Manny" by bicycle to a small, remote, dirt and gravel road. "Manny" is in a playmate cooler typically used to transport organs for transplants. There is a steep drop off to the south of the road, dry weeds and rocks to the north. Luke distributes the "Manny chunks" along the road then runs over them repeatedly with his bicycle. He's grinding them in so they won't be discovered.

For some reason, which escapes me, I am riding nearby in my golf cart. I turn down the very same road but Luke is gone. The road is steep and I become concerned the cart won't be able to make it back if I go too much further. I turn around and head back but (sorry to be so predictable) my cart spins out and gets stuck. I hike to the roadway and find four "Duck Dynasty" types sitting in a duck blind. After I explain my dilemma they cheerfully (or maybe that was creepily) agree to help.

We walk back to my cart, they pick it up and carry it to the road. I drive away waving thanks to the Duck Dynasty guys.

We didn't notice the Manny chunks. Luke's plan is working.

I wonder if Manny's family ever found his remains. I wonder where Luke is now.

STOS

Dream 5

The cardiologist at the clinica orders blood draws, venous and arterial, to better access my oxygen saturation. I am very anxious upon seeing the nurse approach me with a needle and syringe. My veins are destroyed from the ABVD treatment I received as treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma so I know this will not go well. I attempt to pantomime the problem and offer sites I believe will work best. For whatever reason, and I'm sure there was a reason, the nurses reject my offerings. I agree to let them try and after a few, painful failures they obtain their samples. Sweet relief.

Another nurse enters with an IV kit and a bottle of lactated ringers solution. I am afraid. She begins to examine my hands and arms for possibilities and my anxiety grows. She decided upon my right hand and goes to work. After a couple of minutes of "exploration" she successfully begins the IV. We both let out the breath we were holding and smile wanly at each other.

OMG, I realize this is NOT a dream! STOS.

Dream 6

It is Saturday evening at the clinica. We have just finished a marathon arguing session with the local doctor and the insurance company with assistance from Dr. Cristal Cunningham. Things are still up in the air and my anxiety levels are high. I am given several medications via my IV and everyone who speaks English leaves for the night. I'm alone in the room, lying on the miserably hard bed and I realize I need to use el bano. I get up, put on my zappatos and shuffle the few feet across the room to the bathroom. I am amazed at the volume of pee I produce. STOS. I make it back to bed and adjust the pile of heavy blankets on myself and close my eyes. Wait a minute, I need to pee again! Repeat above process and once again, back to bed. I fall asleep for 15 minutes and... I need to pee AGAIN! WTF? This goes on for a couple of hours and finally comes sweet sleep. With nightmares.

The next morning when my entourage arrives I mention this to Cristal. She gets a sheepish look on her face and confesses, I was given LASIK. Geez. I now understand, in the most personal of ways, the expression "I just peed like a racehorse."

I'm sure you've gathered, this was not a dream. STOS.

The Clinica