Third Strike of Dengue.

I wrote this one last August 16, 2012.

I was discharge from the hospital yesterday afternoon. It was my 5^th time being confined in a hospital, and 3^rd time in Dengue. The first time that I had Dengue was when where still in UP Diliman, Quezon City. I was 5 years old. My parents weren’t aware then what are the symptoms of the Dengue. Nanay just told me that I’ve been having a fever for almost 5 days. They had me checked up by the doctor. But she didn’t tell them that it was already a Dengue, that’s why they take it just as a normal illness.

It was December 24 in the evening, Christmas Eve, after the opening of gifts, I bleed. Nanay kept on saying that I have to sleep but I refused because I’m so excited of playing my new toy. While I was crying and saying no to her, my nose bleeds. That was the time I was brought to East Avenue Hospital. I can’t remember each detail of the scenario since I was only a kid. But Nanay said that I was in a critical stage then. I only have 50/50 chances of living. She also told me that they were panicked, because I have to undergo a blood transfusion. Fortunately, I have a type O blood and it doesn’t take a hard time looking for a replacement. They even inserted a tube to my nose that reached up to my intestine, which will cleanse the dirt of the mosquitoes brought to my system. I’m not allowed to eat colored foods and I can’t walk, stand and even seat due of the tube. I stayed there until December 31. I survived the first strike.

The 2^nd time was two years ago. I was already in my second year college. I was having a fever from August 08, 2010, but I still attended my classes. I even went to EARIST on August 11 to surprised Vans, my current boyfriend then, for his birthday. I was having a hard time walking around because I feel so dizzy. But because I wanna make him happy, I stayed and waited him until his last class. But the day after that, I really can’t go up to bed due of high fever. That was Thursday. I was absent until Friday. But my group, Julian, Lhets, MJ and Marce, already planned that we’ll have an overnight to our house for scale model making. They went to our house Friday night. Nanay kept on insisting that I should drink a herbal medicine called Tawa-tawa because she feels like it was Dengue again. It tastes really bad! But I don’t have choice. She will only get mad. We started doing our scale model that night. We do love having an overnight together for a scale model making. Though yea, it is very tiring. Saturday morning, Nanay excused me from doing a scale model and sends me to laboratory clinic. My platelet blood dropped down and I was advised to admit in to the hospital. We went home and spread the bad news. My group mates decided to leave the house and move to Julian’s residence since I have to stay in the hospital for my treatment. As they left the house, they also brought me to the St. Vincent Hospital. As soon as the nurse placed the needle connected to tube for the dextrose to my left hand, I immediately texted Vans to inform him that I have Dengue and I was confined. But to my dismay, he only said “Ano? Bakit? Teka, may practice kami, text kita later”. Sweet isn’t it? But that was the other story. Haha. I’ll go back to Dengue issue. J

I stayed there for about 4 days. Julian, Lhets and Marce visited me with the well-done scale model. Vans visited me too, but with Ruby and Julie, who are our closest friends. Ate Jho had been my all time “Bantay” since she doesn’t have any obligation then, just her husband. After I was discharge from the hospital, I still rest at home for about 3 days before I went back to school. I cursed Dengue after that when I failed in my Calculus subject because my professor is not considerate enough. I had more than a week of absent, that’s why I didn’t take some important quizzes for the subject.

If you thought that having a Dengue for the 3^rd time is cool? Well then, think again! I was diagnosed to have a Dengue for the 3^rd time last August 11, 2012. By the way, it was Vans 19^th birthday, and we broke up November 2010. We went to the laboratory again and asked for the Dengue NH 1 this time. It is the high-tech version of CBC platelet blood test, since it gives the result whether you’re a Dengue positive or not. So I made the test, and after an hour of waiting, boom! I am Dengue Positive again for the third time. We presumed that I got it from the evacuation area we stayed for two nights. The river almost 10 meters away from our house overflowed, and because of the traumatic experienced we had way back on Ondoy’s time, we immediately left our house and go up to the higher portion of our barangay. Thank God that the water went down after awhile. But for our safety, we chose to stay to the evacuation area for two nights.

Nanay and I went home again with a bad news, just like in two years ago. She told me to stay home and rest and she’ll look for money. We are really broke right now, and we don’t have a choice but to ask for others help. I was feeling guilty and sad at the same time. I feel responsible. If only I took care of myself, If only I eat a lot of vegetable I won’t be sick. I will have a strong immune system. But I’m weak. Everybody knows that. I get sick easily. And seeing Nanay finding money desperately to send me to hospital again, breaks my heart,

When she went home, she said in a very calm voice that she cannot find anyone who can lend us some money. She went upstairs and told Toto, my ate, to break Ming Ming, her Alkansya. I went to Toto’s room and told her how feel guilty I am. I was crying. I feel so sorry. Nanay saw me and told me to pack my things and we’ll go to hospital. I was still crying. I feel so sad. Nanay just told me that I have to be safe first. That’s the priority.

We went to St. Vincent Hospital again, told the nurses that I already have a record there. They sent me to Emergency Room. I just have to wait for my turn. But I keep on complaining because of severe head ache I’m feeling. They just gave me a paracetamol as pain reliever. I feel so weak and dizzy that I keep on asking them how long will it take until they attach dextrose to my system. 

After 1 and half hour of waiting, they finally inserted the needle to my left hand for the dextrose.

They also sent me to my room which is located in the fourth floor of main building. It has 5 hospital beds, but we were only 3 patients that time.

I have a slow recovery this time. I refused eating and going up in bed, but I don’t have a choice. I have to eat. Eat and eat a lot. I also have to take a pee always. Nurse Fredie, who I really like because of his kindness, gave me a container with a measurement. I have to take down notes the amount of water I drink and I pee. It gave me a hard time since it’s really hard to pee in that container while having dextrose attached to the other hand. The doctor even told me to drink 2 liters of water a day. So almost every minute I kept on drinking drinking and drinking water and just like before I’m not allowed to eat or drink colored-foods.

I was so weak that I don’t wanna wake up just to pee and eat. I suffered a lot. But because of the medication and after I finished the 13^th dextrose, the doctor final allowed me to go home.

She told me that I only have 126 platelet counts, that it’s not yet normal, but because my Tatay was also confined due of Hypertension, she already allowed me. I just have to take a waiver that whenever happens to me outside the hospital after they discharge me, won’t be their responsibility anymore. I’m still feeling weak and a bit of light-headed but I have to be strong. If I still stay there, the hospital bill will increase again and we won’t afford that anymore. I keep on thinking for Tatay’s situation too and of course the added expenses of his hospitalization. The third strike of Dengue to me was really bad. It ruined everything. My performance in academe, our financial stability, my family even has a problem because of it, and my resistance. They keep on saying that having a Dengue for the third time is abnormal. It will weaken your strength and it has a very slow recovery. But I still thank God that again, I survived, for the third time. Now I’m still advised to rest to get back the energy that I was mislaid.