First of all a big Terima Kasih (thank you) for all of the thoughts, prayers and messages over the past two weeks!! I was definitely feeling the love from all over the world!
Last Saturday I woke up with a fever, body aches and headache. If you get a fever in Bali, there's always the thought-Uh oh! Hope it's not Dengue! If you've never heard of dengue fever, it's an illness contracted from mosquito bites in Southeast Asia which is why we wear bug spray religiously, especially during rainy season. Any other questions you can contact Wade T. because I'm sure my parents are Dengue fever experts now ; )
The fever continued and the body aches got worse especially in my legs. It was very painful to walk. I also had no appetite so I was just trying to stay hydrated. Sunday, Michael was wonderful and went to the closest warung to get me a kelapa muda (young coconut) which is great for hydration. Well the man who usually cuts the coconut wasn't there so Michael decided to open it himself when he got home. Any guesses what happens next? Six stitches in his thumb!
Monday I was still running a fever with the headache and body aches. I took Panadol (Tylenol) but it didn't help. Tuesday I went to the doctor which turned into an all day event. I tested positive for Dengue fever. It really affects your platelet levels and mine were at 74 (normally 150-400) so they said I needed to be hospitalized.
I was in the hospital for 7 days. The hospital was really nice and the nurses were great. My room was large and private and it had cable TV! (I gave up television and movies for Lent but I don't think it counts if you're really sick!) I didn't love the IV, especially when they told me it has to be switched after 3 days. And I had to have blood drawn every 12 hours to check my platelet count. So 6:30AM everyday the nurse woke me up to take blood.
I've also learned Dengue as other weird symptoms. On day 6 my hands and feet were itchy. The antihistamines and lotion didn't work so I had a couple of poor sleeps. It also causes a bad taste in your mouth, so even water tasted bad which is not fun when you're asked to drink 3 liters a day! My platelet count got down to 43, but then started to increase on day 8! When the nurse said it went up by 1 point we did a happy dance! When it reached 70 I got to go home!!
Now I'm on the mend, still drinking lots of water and resting. I told Michael when I get my appetite back I want veggie pot pie for dinner! Next week I'll go back to school-I can't wait to see my kids! And Michael's stitches are out- he went surfing today : )
Last Saturday I woke up with a fever, body aches and headache. If you get a fever in Bali, there's always the thought-Uh oh! Hope it's not Dengue! If you've never heard of dengue fever, it's an illness contracted from mosquito bites in Southeast Asia which is why we wear bug spray religiously, especially during rainy season. Any other questions you can contact Wade T. because I'm sure my parents are Dengue fever experts now ; )
The fever continued and the body aches got worse especially in my legs. It was very painful to walk. I also had no appetite so I was just trying to stay hydrated. Sunday, Michael was wonderful and went to the closest warung to get me a kelapa muda (young coconut) which is great for hydration. Well the man who usually cuts the coconut wasn't there so Michael decided to open it himself when he got home. Any guesses what happens next? Six stitches in his thumb!
Monday I was still running a fever with the headache and body aches. I took Panadol (Tylenol) but it didn't help. Tuesday I went to the doctor which turned into an all day event. I tested positive for Dengue fever. It really affects your platelet levels and mine were at 74 (normally 150-400) so they said I needed to be hospitalized.
I was in the hospital for 7 days. The hospital was really nice and the nurses were great. My room was large and private and it had cable TV! (I gave up television and movies for Lent but I don't think it counts if you're really sick!) I didn't love the IV, especially when they told me it has to be switched after 3 days. And I had to have blood drawn every 12 hours to check my platelet count. So 6:30AM everyday the nurse woke me up to take blood.
I've also learned Dengue as other weird symptoms. On day 6 my hands and feet were itchy. The antihistamines and lotion didn't work so I had a couple of poor sleeps. It also causes a bad taste in your mouth, so even water tasted bad which is not fun when you're asked to drink 3 liters a day! My platelet count got down to 43, but then started to increase on day 8! When the nurse said it went up by 1 point we did a happy dance! When it reached 70 I got to go home!!
Now I'm on the mend, still drinking lots of water and resting. I told Michael when I get my appetite back I want veggie pot pie for dinner! Next week I'll go back to school-I can't wait to see my kids! And Michael's stitches are out- he went surfing today : )
No comments:
Post a Comment