Peru trip part 10-Cusco

 In Lima I was having allergy issues and it was hard to breathe, then the minute we landed in Cusco I felt really sick. I had a hard time getting enough oxygen because of the altitude. Cusco is 11,000 feet above sea level. For some strange reason I retained a lot of fluid. After Cusco we flew back to Lima where I lost some of the fluid but when we got home to Florida and I was weighed at the doctor's office I still had 10 pounds of extra fluids in my body. I really think in Cusco I retained about 15-20 pounds of fluids. Retaining fluids is awful for my Menieres, that is why I can't eat too much salt, to avoid fluid retention in my body and ears. Because of all the fluid I retained and the lack of oxygen (which is also very important to keep my Menieres under control) I felt terribly sick, it felt just like a Menieres episode but a million times worse. Brent had been sick with a cough for the whole trip and unfortunately I started getting a sore throat also in Cusco on top of having my sinuses clogged up from Lima. Then because my body was all messed up my eczema got also really bad and my hands started to peel and burn. Everything and every condition that I have went wrong! I felt miserable and wanted to go home so bad at this point. I could not even go up a couple of steps. We were on the second floor and the hotel did not have an elevator. It was so hard to go up the stairs without having to stop and take a deep breath after a couple of steps. The day after we arrived we were to go to Machu Picchu, after seeing how sick I was Brent wanted to cancel but there was no way I was going to cancel that trip. I wanted Conner to go and see Machu Picchu because at this point I knew I could never come back. That first night we met up with David Powell and his wife, one of Brent's mission friends and he took us to his hotel where he asked for an oxygen tank for me to use. I felt a little better and we were able to go to dinner with them. The next day we went to Machu Picchu and because Machu Picchu is about 2,000 feet lower than Cusco I felt better. I still had a hard time and felt sick to my stomach and had a headache but for the most part I was able to have a good time because I was not as sick as I was in Cusco. We came back to Cusco that same night and I was again really sick.

Walking around in Cusco our first day there

We stopped by the Cusco mission office which is in one of the church buildings. We were looking for Elder Andromidas. His mom is my friend on facebook and since he is one of the office Elders I told her I would look for him.  Elder Andromidas' sister served in the same mission as Alison, Italy Milan mission so of course I was going to go and meet Elder Andromidas.

Cusco mission office Elders

 The office Elders told us that Elder Andromidas was at a Family history booth at Cusco's fair. So we got in a taxi and went looking for him. At the booth Conner sat and played with the Ipad while we spoke with the missionaries. This cute little boy was curious to see what Conner was doing.

Elder Andromidas busy teaching people about their family history. 

Elder Andromidas and his companion Elder Asay

Brother and sister Johnson and the missionaries. It was fun helping them. As I was standing there watching people stop and look at the family history kiosk, I would ask them if they wanted to know about their ancestors and then direct them to the missionaries. I had a great time!

Elder Andromidas getting a hug from his momma, via Brent

Brent's dinner our first night in Cusco

My dinner was this delicious soup, my stomach could not handle much. But this pumpkin soup was amazing.