Katelyn Goes to the Cardiologist

Raise you're hand if you've been to a cardiologist. Now, raise you're hand if you've ever been to a cardiologist in a foreign country. You can't see me right now, but my hand is held high! Interesting and unexpected day here in Santiago!

Let's go back a few days to last Wednesday in Starbucks. I was sitting there with Bonnie Grace and all of a sudden felt like somebody was stabbing me in the heart. I couldn't move. It paralyzed me for about eight seconds.

Now fast forward to this Wednesday afternoon around 3 p.m. It happens again at home in my kitchen. Knife in my heart. Paralyzed again. Then around 7 p.m., it happened again, only this time it didn't stop. It stayed constant. I had chest pains throughout the night to the point where I couldn't stand up straight. Walker, who literally thought I was dying, looked up the symptoms of a heart attack and made me check every single one off my list. No, I do not have chest pains when I develop a rash. Against my will, he made me promise to tell my American mom. I figured it would go away with sleep, but I awoke this morning with the same pain. My Chilean mom insisted I go to the doctor and my parents agreed due to our terrible family history with heart problems.

I saw a general doctor this morning. Nicest doctor I have EVER been to. Seriously. She cared about my feelings. She didn't rush me out of her office. She didn't answer my questions before I asked them. She listened, showed concern and was the doctor I've always wanted, although she made my strip down to nothing on my top. When I left, she kissed my cheek goodbye. She was pretty sure my problem was only muscular, but wanted to be thorough. She sent me to get an echocardiogram. What? This is what I was thinking as I lay on a Chilean hospital bed with wires hooked up to my bare chest. If I weren’t naked, I would have taken a picture.

All of my forms say Katelyn Foster Foster. Here, everybody has two last names, one from their mother and one from their father. It's obligatory to have two last names on the forms; so today I was Katelyn Foster Foster.

On our way home, Monica was robbed on the bus. A man came up to her, pushed her and yanked her gold cross necklace off of her neck. He ran off the bus. Nothing could be done. She was left with a red marking all the way around her neck. I kept air kicking an invisible man all the way home. I'm still furious.

Later this afternoon, I returned to see the CARDIOLOGIST. What? The second nicest doctor I've EVER met. Also the most unique. He looked like a Chilean Mr. Rogers of about 70 years. The sweet grandpa type. He meets Monica and I at the door and then starts walking at a pace we couldn't keep up with. Then he turns the corner and he's out of our sight. We finally reach the corner and see him literally running down the hallway, waving his hand yelling "come on, come on." What?? He reached his office before we are halfway there. I was gasping for breath when I finally got there. He explained that he likes to exercise during the day. Monica and I have been laughing about this all night long. And of course, I had to take my shirt off, again.

He performed a third exam and came to the conclusion that it is probably an irritated muscle in my chest giving me the pains but that my heart is completely normal. He also said the upper portion of my colon was inflamed and I had air in my stomach. I explained I drank Canada Dry (ginger ale is not soda) the night before and that I haven't had a sip of soda in 5 years. This led him to the conclusion that it was the Canada Dry giving me the pain. Although there is no way this is true, its funny to think that all of this was caused by a glass of ginger ale. I get scrutinized every time I drink water over here, so now I have a perfectly good excuse to only drink water!!! I'm so happy! On my way out, he gave me a big hug and said "Ketalin, you a healthy young." I think he meant to add "lady" to the end. A hug!

To see the general doctor without insurance, it cost me about $65 dollars. To get the echocardiogram $16. To see a cardiologist $30. Are you kidding me? It was cheaper for me to see these doctors without insurance in Chile than it would be to see them with insurance in the states. Chilean health care has got it going on!! The NICEST DOCTORS and the CHEAPEST healthcare ever!

So rest easy friends and family, I'm a healthy young! I still have pain, but it's much easier to handle knowing it's not mi corazón. For the rest of my time here, I will continue to laugh about the running doctor, rest my strained heart muscle, keep my clothes on in front of strangers and stay away from Canada Dry!

Love from my healthy heart,
Katelyn Foster Foster

Terremoto

It all started with Bonnie Grace and me spending the night at the hotel so we could leave Santiago at 7 a.m. This meant sleeping 3 to a bed for my family. It was such a joy!

The night before, Monica loaned them hats and gloves to wear. It's cold down South!


We piled into the van, picked up Raquel (our guide for the day) and stopped for gas. Question: How many American men does it take to pump gas in Chile? Answer: Two American men and 1 Chilean lady. After Raquel helped my dad and Harry fill 'er up, we headed out of town to our first stop, Curico.

All 3 of them pumping gas!


The goal of our day was to visit Curico, Talca and Constitución, three cities devastated by the earthquake in February. My dad and Harry wanted to see the destruction and talk with the pastors firsthand in order to take their personal stories and situations of their churches back to the states.

Curico
Curico is located about 1.5 hours south of Santiago and is a farming community. We saw several typical Chilean farmers walking the streets with cowboy hats and panchos. First Baptist Curico is currently without a pastor, so we met with the leaders of the church. The church building is completely destroyed. The pictures can speak for themselves. They have already raised half of the money necessary to rebuild just from generous donations.

What used to be their sanctuary


Their Sunday School classrooms


The goal of the church is to rebuild a building that is open to the community. One of the men told us how they are actually grateful for the earthquake because it has been a spiritual earthquake to them as well. It has awakened their eyes to see that they need to reach out to the community. When they finish construction, they will open their church to the community all throughout the week as well has hold church services. They have lost everything, but give thanks for the ways it has affected their lives for the better and enhanced their opportunities to reach people.





Once we entered the small room they are currently using for a sanctuary, they served us breakfast. These people have been left with nothing, but yet they offered us everything they could possibly give us. Thanks to Raquel for translating their individual stories, dreams and goals into English for us during breakfast!





Talca
Our next stop was about another hour away. In the city of Talca, we found hope in the reconstruction already being done. The Talca church was not badly affected, but many of the buildings around town and homes were destroyed. A co-worker of Raquel's who lives in Talca guided us through the streets in order to see just how badly the earthquake affected this city. The Chilean Baptists have already built many temporary shelters here so we got to see all of the work that has already been done to begin recovery and take care of the immediate needs of the people! The goal of our stop in this city was to see the damage, but to also witness the hard work that has already been put into helping rebuild.

Church in good condition


Temporary housing


Damage around town




Lots of car time together


Constitucion
After a nice lunch at the mall, we headed to our last stop in the small fishing village of Constitución. This city was not only severely hit by the earthquake but also suffered massive loss from the tsunami that completely wiped out a significant portion of the coastline. After another two hours in the car, we met the pastor of the Fist Baptist Church of Constitución who has an unbelievable story to share about his life after the earthquake. We first stopped at his church to talk with him about the building and such. There are currently two families who lost their homes living in temporary shelters on the property of the church. Their plan is to construct the buildings over the top of these shelters so they are still able to live there during reconstruction.



Temporary housing on the church property. The new building will be built over these shelters. A family of 4 lives in a one room shelter. The mom was a lawyer. They went from wealth to a one room house.


The back of the 2 shelters. 8 people live here in total. (Notice the towel says Hola Katy. It's like they knew I was coming)


Now, for the story of this incredible man. He lost absolutely everything in the earthquake. He lost his house, everything in his house and his cars. The people of this city are trained to run up to the hills after an earthquake to avoid the giant tidal wave that will hit about 15 minutes later. This day was a little different. It hit during a large celebration consisting of people partying on a small island right off of the city. The island was right across the river from this man's house. When the earthquake hit, the people were so disoriented that they couldn't figure out how to run off of the island. This pastor witnessed 200 people swallowed alive by the wave of water. The pastor expected water rise about halfway up his house, but on his walk back to his house from the hill, he saw his car in a tree. Upon his arrival to the spot where his house once stood and all of his belongings resided, he found only a slab of cement. His family literally lost every single thing they had except for the clothes on their back.

The pastor


This cement slab is where his home used to stand. The wave of water rose over the tall building in the background.


The island right across from the pastor's home.


This used to be homes. Then the tsunami came. It is now dirt.


After Raquel heard his story for the first time back in March, she tried to give him $500 to help him restart. He started crying and said that he could not accept the money. He has not prayed for money and therefore there had to be people that needed it more than him. He told Raquel to give it to people who were in worse condition than him. His family is now living in a small apartment and he is trying to save enough money to buy a new truck to use for his vegetable business.

More damaged homes





The stories of these people are lesson teaching and life changing. They have been left with nothing yet give thanks for the spiritual awakening that has occurred in their lives due to being left with nothing. They give thanks for losing everything they own. And they give what little they have left to help those who have less than them. They give everything they have to help rebuild their churches that will better serve their communities. I don't know why this earthquake hasn't received very much attention in the media. I've been told it is because this country suffers a major earthquake every fifty years or so, but that doesn't change the fact that lives have been lost, possessions are a thing of the past, and communities have been altered forever. Although the devastation was hard to handle, I left with confidence in the strength of the people we encountered. The people take care of each other. They are determined to rebuild not only their own houses and lives but also a better community and future for everybody. We left with heavy yet inspired hearts.

We drove four hours back to Santiago after waaaay too many hours in the car. We were gone for the entire day (7 a.m. - 11 p.m.) and maybe 4 hours were spent outside of the van. Thanks for driving Harry! Thanks for guiding Raquel!

5 More Gringos Come to Santiago!

Well, the visitors have come! And gone! The last of them left today, so I'll give you a peek into the highlights of the last week and a half!

To start off, my mother has been nagging me about writing a blog, so I decided to post this photo. Make sure click on it and blow it up.


And this one : )


I drove with Raquel to the airport bright and early last Friday morning to meet my parents, Harry Rowland, Denise and Bonnie Grace. Let me give you a preview of Raquel's schedule that day. At 11 a.m. she met with the former president of Chile to pray with her. For lunch, she ate with Louis Palau (the Billy Graham of Latin America) to discuss his upcoming evangelism conference in September. At 5 p.m. she met with the current president of Chile to pray with him. But she began the day with Glen Foster and Harry Rowland!!! Ps. She had a root canal the day before.

Lunch at my family's restaurant on the day of arrival! Delicious as always.


Quit playing games with my heart, with my heart. Oh, I'm sorry. I got a little distracted by the Backstreet boys blaring in the background.

OK, HIGHLIGHTS! Here we go!

San Cristobal. We drove up this beautiful hill to see the giant virgin...and the view. A large statue of Virgin Mary is located at the top of this small mountain. Although it's a lovely piece of art, the view of the city is the real prize for maneuvering a minivan through the twists and turns of a mountain road. You can see the entire city of Santiago with the snow-covered Andes in the background. It's a postcard view!

Mary and her virgin self.


Dad posing with Jesus...


Whole group!


Everyone always has to get the same picture with their own camera!


Enjoying the view


Esteban graciously agreed to be our tour guide to Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. It wouldn't have been the same experience without him! Harry drove us up the coastline to arrive at Viña del Mar, a beautiful beach city. Esteban recommended a quaint little restaurant (shaped like a boat) on the edge of the sea. Thank You Esteban! Might have been the best fish any of us have ever eaten! We then ventured over to the neighboring mountain city of Valparaiso. Once you make your way into the mountains you stumble upon another beautiful view and a small market of vendors. Mountains and the beach in one day...in South America...can't beat that!

Our view from the restaurant in Vina del Mar


Lunch on the "boat"...Dad thinks this is the best family picture we've ever taken.


View from Valparaiso


What's wrong with this?


AZ couldn't stay away from us!



Santa Lucia. When Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago in 1541, he did so on the hill now called Santa Lucia. The mound, now a famous tourist attraction, is now home to yet another beautiful view of the city. We climbed the stairs (and more stairs and more stairs) to find a nice little plaza, lots of stray dogs and castle-like architecture.
Santa Lucia!


View from the top


We found a very fitting statue of a dog. I had warned them, but I think all 5 of my American visitors now understand that stray dogs really do rule the school over here.


Plaza de Armas. The main square of Santiago is called Plaza de Armas, but I've been told that most of the people in the plaza are more likely Peruvian than Chilean. We explored a beautiful cathedral and ate lunch at a sidewalk cafe. Side note: It's the weirdest thing...people still eat outside, drink coffee outside and have social events outside during the winter. I couldn't survive here. My social life would die.
Plaza de Armas


Who can resist the urge to take a picture with a 6'5" blonde American man?



La Moneda. The president's office resides in the downtown area of Santiago. Although he doesn't live here, it's still the official building of the president.
The president's place


It's easy to forget you aren't in TX


2010 is Chile's 200 year anniversary


Church! My parents and Bonnie Grace were able to attend two Sundays at Parque Apoquindo. It was fun for me to introduce them to all of the wonderful people I've gotten to know over the past weeks. They enjoyed Spanish services in which they (excluding Bonnie Grace) understood absolutely nothing, but at lest they got to join in with the clapping, singing and bowing of head. After the first Sunday, we all went to a restaurant and watched the World Cup final on a projector screen....GO SPAIN!!!
Susan! (And Noemi in her belly...one more month!)


My mentor for the summer, Bobby Carter


World Cup!


BARBECUE. Saturday brought a barbecue. A freezing cold barbecue. A freezing cold barbecue that nobody else seemed to think was freezing cold besides me who was freezing cold the whole time. My Wednesday night Bible study group got their families together for a barbecue to celebrate the end of the semester. Incredible meat cooked by a rock star chef (seriously, he was dressed like a rock star), kids jumping on the trampoline, me shaking in a chair, and my parents laughing and smiling like they understood the conversations. Really though, it was a very fun afternoon with great people and great food! I would do it all over again...even the cold!


We had a fantastic time not only getting to see the sights of Santiago, but getting to truly experience the Chilean culture and getting to know the people. I thoroughly enjoyed having my American visitors, although my mind is exhausted from translating. I could barely even speak English at the end of each day, but it was worth it! We had lots and lots of laughs, sarcasm as always, good food (Bonnie Grace and I kept a strict schedule of eating every 2 hours), maybe too much togetherness time in the car, saw beautiful sights and scenery and wore ourselves out like expert travelers know they should do! We didn't waste a minute. And oh yeah, we enjoyed good weather. Although a bit frustrating, I guess I welcomed the warmer weather even though nobody believes me that it's actually cold here! Tomorrow (the day after my parents leave), a cold front is hitting Santiago. Whatev.


We also spent an entire day touring three different cities that were devastated by the earthquake/tsunami. I will be writing a separate post about this...tomorrow?

Extra pics!
Taco Bell is ALWAYS a highlight!


Roasting marshmallows by the heater! LOVE IT!


Harry gettin his groove on with a Chilean dancer


You're Welcome!


Sunset!