Hi all. It's been exactly a months since I last posted something. It feels longer than that though.
Well wow, alot has happened in between that time that and now. Things I never imagined would happen. What an experience for the first year of marriage.
Well, let me explain....
May 25 was my last blog post. 4 days later my father in law passed away. I cherish what little memories I have with him...
So I went to Indonesia for my first time. Despite the sadness my first time there was with Sonya like she made promise that I wouldn't go there without her there too. I got to see where they grew up which was such a beautiful place. I also really do feel now that I do have another family. Bayu's family and my family. We are all family. It was a bittersweet time. A family reunion but with a twist one in which many people's lives won't be as it used to be.
Bayu and I arrived back in Singapore on June 8, Monday. We were so tired and rested all Tuesday. On Wednesday Bayu preached for Midweek. I had noticed that he said he feels cold when normally he is alwasy hot.
On Thursday around lunch time he asked me to massage him because his body was aching, possibly from the exercise he did on Tuesday night. After massaging him he fell asleep for a long time. He normally does not sleep long in the afternoons. When he woke up i touched him and he was really hot! He said he was fine but didn't go to a meeting he was supposed to go to because of the people's fear of H1n1.
That evening he called me to meet him at a clinic near our place to check with the doctor there about his fever. Bayu said it could be Malaria because he came from a Malaria infested place. The doctor said it was just fatigue and gave muscle relaxant medecine. And we went back home. His fever didn't get any better. I went and bought a fever thermometer and it read 39. The fever didn't go down all night it wasbetween 39 and 40.
So the next morning we went to that same clinic near our place. It was another doctor. Bayu once again said it must be Malaria because where we came from is known for Malaria. The doctor said it was fatigue and gave the same medecine as the first doctor. Then she said that if his fever doesn't go down to go to a certain, bigger more well known hospital. Fever cases need to go there especially after we've been abroad.
That afternoon his fever was still at his 40s and so we decided to go to the hospital. It was around a 20 minute ride by taxi. When we got there and Bayu said he had a fever they has us to sit outside and gave us masks to wear. Then some people came and asked Bayu if he's been out of the country, where, checked his temperature, why is he here, which doctor will he see and finally let us in.
We went into the Walk-in clinic which is a clinic within the hospital. Bayu told the Doctor it's most likely Malaria. The doctor said the symptoms did seem like Malaria so he did a blood check on bayu for Malaria and Dengue. We had to wait 2 hours for the result. The result came out negative. So the doctor said it must be fatigue gave the exact same medecine as the other two previous doctors and sent us home.
That night Bayu's fever was between 39 and 40.7. We both tried all night not to make the fever get any higher. We didn't get any sleep. Bayu due to not feeling well and me soaking and wringing 6 towels to put on his body all night. This was Friday night and Bayu was supposed to preach the next day but I told them he was sick and couldn't make it.
The next morning was still the same...but getting worse. Bayu started getting diahhrea. He totally lost his appetite. He searched online for home remedies to cure or fight Malaria and listed the ingredients needed. I went out and bought them. Came home made the remedies and after he drank them he vomited everything out. He drank paracetamol and his fever did go down but for only 1 hour. That afternoon we decided to go back to the hospital again.
After the interviews and inspections at the entrance again we went back to the walk-in clinic. The nurse said that if he didn't get any better to go to the ER So that's where we went. Bayu said it's Malaria. They quarantined bayu in a room where they tested his uring, blood and did xrays. We were in the hosital that evening for 6 hours. The result? Negative for Malaria or anything else. They just found something wrong with the way his liver was working. So they made an appointment with a centre for us to follow up on the liver. The appointment was on a Monday because the centre was closed on Sunday.
Once again we were sent home with the same diagnosis and medecines as the other previous doctors. I was so discouraged. The only people who could help us (the doctors and nurses!) couldn't help us. All I wanted was for his fever to go down. It has been a constant 39 and 40.
That night I was already so exhausted trying to lower his temperature through different methods and I just fell asleep. Bayu had to wipe himself. My mom said she was coming but couldn't make a reentry and could only come on Monday night. I was really exhausted and stressed.
The whole Sunday was bad. I wanted to bring him to the hospital and force them to keep him there and put IV. He was totally dehydrated and hadn't been eating! The previous night they said he was dehdrated but said he wasn't sick enough to stay.
I asksed Bayu to go back to the hospital again and he said what's the point when they're just going to say the same thing.
Finally, in the afternoone he said let's go.
So back we were at the hospital again being interviewed and questioned at the entrance. Then they told us to walk around the building to go to the ER. They thought bayu was felling fine. He looks fine on the outside but actually he's really sick!
At the ER they tested his blood again and the result was negative. They did say he would be admitted to the hospital and the reason was because it was the liver that was causing the fever. Before I left, I specifically asked the doctor if it was the liver that caused the fever. He said yes.
So I slept over at Rochael's place with her mom and sister. And could only visit Bayu at visiting hours which were at 12 to 2 pm and 5 to 8 pm. Only 4 visitors per session allowed. The first session Bayu said that the specialist came in and said it should be Malaria and did another blood test. By that afternoon it was CONFIRMED:MALARIA...Finally!
His fever was still high but now they knew what they could treat him for!
He was at the hospital Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night and could come home on Tuesday afternoon. They did a blood test everyday on him.
Once they knew it was Malaria, they gave the right medecine and he got well enough to get out of the hospital. Of course it was also all the people around the world praying for him.
That's not really the whole story. The dcotor said he got the most lethal strain of Malaria. But he survived. He also survived all the poking and prodding of the needles. 5 times on Saturday night they poked him to withdraw blood but came out with nothing and had to poke him over and over until they got it. Then on sunday night one person wanted to withdraw blood didn't make it the first, second or third time trying on the same spot. Thankfully, after that there were the experts who did it without any problems.
If you look at his arms and hands he looks like a drug addict! Haha.
Also For the first 2 night he was in a ward with 4 other people and there were these 2 old men who kept moaning and groaning and crying out in discomfort all night and all day. Bayu couldn't get his needed rest since it was just curtains dividing him and the others. It was really bad. We then moved him to a private room where he slept like a baby and was discharged the next day.
At the same time my Mom came and helped out. She was my/our life saver. By then I was so exhausted she took over massaging Bayu, pursuing the doctors and nurses, giving advice. It was so nice to have her.
When we got home she cooked for us and took such good care of us for the whole week that she was around. Bayu got out of the hospital but the doctors said he had to rest for another 8 days and take another blood test to confirm he was free of Malaria.
*Phew. So yesterday we took that blood test. Tomorrow is his last day of rest and today is exactly a month since I last posted on my blog.
