Dengue in full color
Thank you to everyone who has supported us with stats, a good word, or well wishes. Matt’s fever is finished, which should mean that his platelet count will begin to rise. He just took his first actual, real stretch - hands up high - without having an IV stuck into his hand. So he looks a bit less geriatric now. He’ll be doing another blood test tomorrow morning, and if his platelet count is rising, he’ll be discharged. So he’s almost out-of-the-woods and on the mend. (And by out-of-the-woods we mean into two to four weeks of recovery.)
In case you don’t know, Dengue is a mosquito-born infectious tropical disease that causes flu-like symptoms (high fever, muscle and joint aches and headaches) and a distinct skin rash (similar to measles). In a small number of people each year (500,000 out of 50 to 100 million cases per year) the disease can develop into the dangerous Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) - where your platelet count and blood pressure drop so low you hemorrhage blood. 250,000 people die per year from Dengue (many children and elderly). Dengue is contracted in tropical and sub-tropical regions, mostly in cities and other somewhat urban areas, even as far as the southern US. There is no vaccine and no cure. Technically speaking, Matt’s platelet count has descended far enough to be considered DHF, though he’s not H-ing anywhere.
Ok, science time is over. Here’s a nice little view in full color.
Make-shift IV stand on the ferry from Koh Tao to Koh Samui. Rock on.
Our ride in the suped-up van acting as an ambulance.
The ER room in Bangkok Hospital Samui. It’s jamming at noon on a Wednesday.
The is how dealing with insurance makes you feel.
Sea water life support.
Matt’s hospital bed was so horrendously bad he snaked my futon. Result? ZZZZZZZ.
The accused. This sick bed will kick you when you’re down. At the foot of the bed a label indicates “Quality 3000”. Our vote: “Quality 2”.
The hotel part of our hospital room.
Breakfast arrives promptly at 8am, usually of fruit, eggs and bread. It’s not gourmet, but it’s not made of plastic like American hospital food, either.
It’s the hospital version of KFC’s Double Down in Thailand. For those who are ignorant, that’s two breaded chicken patties with some pork substance in the middle. I’m surprised he didn’t pass out from eating it.
Dinner of unknown origin. Not sampled. We ate mung bean roti and curry instead.
The button. The nurses here are adorable and sweet. When you press the clicker above, they all chime in with “May I help you?” and “Minute please!” One comes in each evening and asks “How many pee pee, poo poo?” A nurse named Jimmy told us - when we asked her name - that she’d had a sex change. We think it was a joke, but you never can be too sure in Thailand. Then there was the nurse who greeted me multiple times in the emergency room with, “Hello Sir.” Thailand has some serious gender-bending.
Matt expressing his feelings to the mosquito population.
The Weapon of Minuscule Destruction. We spent quite a bit of time in our hospital room chasing mosquitos around the room, losing them, cursing them, staying awake and peeking out from the covers for them. Are we going to be like this for the rest of our lives? Well, if we are, we ALWAYS want to have an electric-powered tennis racket handy. It makes life much more satisfying.
Don’t go out there.
The rash. See all that red splotchiness?
An attentive nurse finally taking out Matt’s IV needle.
The OMEGA Dengue. Works up to one meter in stagnant waters in all tropical climates - in potted plants, old tires, and toilet bowls!
Sad puppy Matt wanted to go out and play.
