This is how we do vacation

I imagined Izzy's first encounter with my parents in numerous ways, but none of the scenarios involved the worst cyclical vomiting episode of her vomit-filled life that would land her in intensive care three days later. Izzy got an ear, throat and tonsil infection that triggered the three-day long awful vomit-fest from hell and, coupled with her high fever, caused a nasty case of dehydration and imbalance in her ions and electrolytes. The doctor thought that the Bean's high sodium level could cause a brain edema so her rehydration should be closely monitored.

Unfortunately, the fancy-smancy private hospital where we first took her failed to mention prior to the Bean's admission that they were not prepared to handle traumas or cases that require closer monitoring, since they don't have a doctor on site in the evening and at night, and such cases would be transferred to a state hospital. So after the very kind and very thorough doctor examined Izzy and ran a bunch of blood tests and x-ray and ultrasound and had a neurology consult, and everything imaginable, she decided to call an ambulance and transfer Izzy to the scary looking but excellent intensive care unit of a state hospital. It was the medically responsible thing to do, we just wished we knew it was a possibility beforehand, so we would have just gone to the state hospital in the first place. We would have saved ourself a long trip, an ambulance ride and a big fat bill that needed to be paid immediately, before we left the scene.

Talking about financial nonsense, in the state hospital we were told that since Izzy is an American citizen and we don't pay into the state health insurance system, we have to ask for a so-called "pre-calculation" from the intensive care unit that estimates and predicts the costs of Izzy's care, and pay that amount right away. At discharge, we would receive an actual list of services, procedures, tests and administered medications, which will be compared to the pre-calculation bill, and depending on the difference, we might have to pay more, or a less likely scenario, get money back. It took all my negotiating and lion-taming skills to explain to the administrator that people don't usually travel with thousands of dollars in cash and one needs time to access foreign bank accounts, due to the limitation on ATM withdrawals. Once I convinced the suspicious clerk that we were not looking for a "discount" or a way to get out of paying for services that were provided, but only looking for some cooperation, she was much nicer and stopped treating us like potential criminals. By the time we took care of the pre-calculation, translated the bill to English together, and paid the predicted amount, we were BFF's.

This the short version until I reunite with my computer and I stop depending on wifi hotspots for the Internet. Izzy has been sleeping like a little hibernating bear since Tuesday evening, sleeping through suctioning and poking and tests, thank God. Her lab results are looking better, and she stopped looking like a baby zombie. We are really hoping to get her out of the hospital before the weekend, even if it involves grabbing her quickly and running like the wind.

While we really wanted to spend time in Budapest and meet our awesome friends, hanging out in the hospital foyer was not the kind of get-together that we pictured. However, we have amazing friends who are willing to ditch everything just to come to see us at the hospital, who bring us food and get us mobile phones and a car to use, who offer their home for us to stay at and do all kinds of crazy things for us that make us feel immensely loved.