Almost back to normal
I am so grateful for all the prayers on my behalf. Dengue fever is not fun!
I had dengue fever the first time in Thailand when I was 12. It wasn't fun then either. It is amazing how one little mosquito can wreck havoc on your whole body.
Just to give you some information, I felt fine at noon on Thurs, July 24th. By 12:30, I had a high fever and was shaking with chills. Since it was quickly getting worse, I did the unusual thing for me and told Rich that I probably should go to the Dr. (that was about 3pm).
The blood test showed dengue fever. Since I am older, one of the problems is that dengue fever can cause your body to go into shock. (Which is why older people can die of dengue fever) So they said I would probably be in the hospital for 2-3 days. Dengue causes your white blood cell count and your platelet count to drop.
Finally, on the 3rd day, my fever was gone. But my blood and platelet counts were still dropping. The Dr. told me I could go home once I didn't have a fever for 24 hours and my counts were back up. He said probably tomorrow.
But, no...my platelet counts kept dropping. Just so you know, your platelet counts should be between 150,000 - 400,000. When I can into the hospital, they had already dropped to 88,000. Each day they dropped more. Once it gets down to 50,000, normal everyday activities (brushing your teeth, etc) can cause you to bleed and not stop.
On the 5th day, my platelet counts were down to 35,000. Ok, for those of you who know me, you will understand this...I pleaded with the Dr. that if he would let me go home, that I would be good and just lay around and not do anything. And it worked! He let me go home. I could tell that one of the nurses didn't think that was a good idea at all! She told me she was really worried.
Rich, who had ridden the motorcycle up, went home to get the car (since there was no way I could sit up on the motorcycle). Well, the car wouldn't start. So he took a motorcycle taxi back to the hospital and we called a car taxi to take us home. That was on Tuesday, July 29th.
On Saturday, Aug 2nd, I went back to the Dr. and my counts were all good! However, it has taken me until now to get any strength back. I am not quite back to full strength, but close. I just am tired by evening time. And I know that God answered many of your prayers favorably on my behalf. I am grateful to be the child of the Almighty who listens and cares. And, it sure does make you thankful for your normal good health!!
By the way, the Dr. told me that you can only get dengue fever 4 times; that on the 5th, your body has built up an immunity. I told him that twice was plenty for me! Rich of course, was wonderful. Since our living room is on the 3rd floor and the bedroom is on the 4th floor, Rich got to carry food, water, etc from the kitchen on the ground, up and down the stairs for nearly a week. Not to mention doing all the errand running that I usually do. He immediately went out and bought 6 more mosquito deterrents!
Again, thanks for your prayers, the sweet comments on Facebook and the emails. One of the many blessing of living here is inexpensive healthcare. The hospital I was in is one of the most expensive (it is also one of the only ones that we trust their care. Regular Cambodian hospitals are NOT good). It is a branch of the Bangkok Hospital in Thailand. Just to let you know, my 5 nights plus ALL the charges (dr., room, medicine, everything) was about $2,500.
Love you all!
Ronda
I had dengue fever the first time in Thailand when I was 12. It wasn't fun then either. It is amazing how one little mosquito can wreck havoc on your whole body.
Just to give you some information, I felt fine at noon on Thurs, July 24th. By 12:30, I had a high fever and was shaking with chills. Since it was quickly getting worse, I did the unusual thing for me and told Rich that I probably should go to the Dr. (that was about 3pm).
The blood test showed dengue fever. Since I am older, one of the problems is that dengue fever can cause your body to go into shock. (Which is why older people can die of dengue fever) So they said I would probably be in the hospital for 2-3 days. Dengue causes your white blood cell count and your platelet count to drop.
Finally, on the 3rd day, my fever was gone. But my blood and platelet counts were still dropping. The Dr. told me I could go home once I didn't have a fever for 24 hours and my counts were back up. He said probably tomorrow.
But, no...my platelet counts kept dropping. Just so you know, your platelet counts should be between 150,000 - 400,000. When I can into the hospital, they had already dropped to 88,000. Each day they dropped more. Once it gets down to 50,000, normal everyday activities (brushing your teeth, etc) can cause you to bleed and not stop.
On the 5th day, my platelet counts were down to 35,000. Ok, for those of you who know me, you will understand this...I pleaded with the Dr. that if he would let me go home, that I would be good and just lay around and not do anything. And it worked! He let me go home. I could tell that one of the nurses didn't think that was a good idea at all! She told me she was really worried.
Rich, who had ridden the motorcycle up, went home to get the car (since there was no way I could sit up on the motorcycle). Well, the car wouldn't start. So he took a motorcycle taxi back to the hospital and we called a car taxi to take us home. That was on Tuesday, July 29th.
On Saturday, Aug 2nd, I went back to the Dr. and my counts were all good! However, it has taken me until now to get any strength back. I am not quite back to full strength, but close. I just am tired by evening time. And I know that God answered many of your prayers favorably on my behalf. I am grateful to be the child of the Almighty who listens and cares. And, it sure does make you thankful for your normal good health!!
By the way, the Dr. told me that you can only get dengue fever 4 times; that on the 5th, your body has built up an immunity. I told him that twice was plenty for me! Rich of course, was wonderful. Since our living room is on the 3rd floor and the bedroom is on the 4th floor, Rich got to carry food, water, etc from the kitchen on the ground, up and down the stairs for nearly a week. Not to mention doing all the errand running that I usually do. He immediately went out and bought 6 more mosquito deterrents!
Again, thanks for your prayers, the sweet comments on Facebook and the emails. One of the many blessing of living here is inexpensive healthcare. The hospital I was in is one of the most expensive (it is also one of the only ones that we trust their care. Regular Cambodian hospitals are NOT good). It is a branch of the Bangkok Hospital in Thailand. Just to let you know, my 5 nights plus ALL the charges (dr., room, medicine, everything) was about $2,500.
Love you all!
Ronda
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