Diary of a Dengue Fever Victim..... by Elsie Mullers

" It was December 23 and I woke up feeling like I’d been run over by a steam roller. At the time I thought it might have just been the lack of sleep I’d been having, between family functions, work functions, and getting everything together before the New Year. Symptoms were flu-like: pounding headache, dizziness, fatigue, chills, and extreme muscle aches... but not the runny nose and sinus infection (thank God.)  No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get enough sleep and energy to get up and wrap the last minute Christmas gifts, and I definitely wasn’t feeling the Christmas cheer. 

My sister, who has fallen victim to typhoid several times proclaimed that she thought I must have typhoid. Being as far away from a hypochondriac as I am, I tried to convince her I only had the flu, but she forced me to call Dr. Madan.

I explained my symptoms and even pointed out that I was lucky I didn’t have the sniffles.  He immediately asked me to have a blood test done.

 On Christmas Eve morning, I called Prodia to the house and by noon it was confirmed that I was the latest victim of a diseased flying vampire (aka The evil mosquito.)

The news flooded my mind with images of an emergency flight to Singapore; a Christmas day spent in the hospital, alone, and how I was too young to die.......

 I wasn’t sure what to expect as a dengue victim but what I pictured was bad. I immediately called Dr. Madan to confirm my illness and find out next steps.

“What hospital do I check myself into? Do I have to fly to Singapore? What medicines can I take? Ohmigosh ohmigosh I can’t believe this would happen to me I have an amazing immune system!”

“Calm down, What is your thrombocyte level?”  Dr. Madan said to me and he explained that as long as my thrombocyte levels were above a certain level, the best place for me would be in bed, sleeping; that there were many housewife remedies for keeping thrombocyte levels high but that they weren’t proven; that I needed to get my blood tested daily; and most importantly, that doctors in Indonesia are more skilled at treating tropical diseases than the ones in Singapore. He also warned me about symptoms to come – itching, more aching, etc.

Over the next days, I dreaded the mornings when the nurse would come to draw blood from my arm. I tried every single housewife remedy hoping for a miracle but my levels kept dropping. While the appetite loss worked wonders for my figure, the rest was nothing short of miserable. As soon as thrombocyte levels dropped below 100, I started to develop red dots on my skin due to the blood vessels popping which was not treatable with anti-histamines and which itched like crazy. My eyes were very painful to move, the slightest poke sent me into crying hysterics, and I freaked out about EVERY mosquito I saw because I didn’t want it to bite me and then bite someone else in the family. God forbid there be two of us miserable grouches in the house.

Luckily I managed to recover before thrombocyte levels reached the emergency level. The number of people who had contracted dengue over the following weeks was astounding and those of us who had “been there done that” shared stories. I was astounded by how many people said that they had been emergency-lifted to Singapore… enduring all that hassle, when really they would have been better off staying at home. It really confirmed to me the lack of trust in Indonesia’s healthcare system.  

I’m still paranoid about mosquitoes but I make sure I have my garden fogged on a frequent basis and I LOVE anything that kills mosquitos – lizards, spiders, the whole range of Ace Hardware contraptions – I have them all.  But more than that, I was happy I had a competent doctor taking care of me, looking out for my interests (and not my wallet), right here in Indonesia.

If you contract dengue this season, don't worry!!! 

Contact Centrepoint Healthcare.Your health is our Centrepoint.