Dengue Doom Done

Two months ago I caught the dreaded dengue fever. Here is the story. . .

The city of Delhi had been all abuzz about how many cases of dengue there were in the city, how many people were dying, etc. Rich's work party was cancelled to help us all avoid getting it. I was getting SMS messages on my mobile phone from Airtel with tips on how to avoid dengue. You get the idea.

So, when I came down with a fever on 19 October, the day after my Seven Cities presentation, I was a bit worried. Then when my eyes started burning and the fever wouldn't go away I started to feel this impending doom. Did I have the dreaded dengue? How could I be so stupid? I was always dousing the kids with mosquito repellant, but often left myself out of the fun (dengue spreads only through mosquitos).

Then, as I deal with many dilemmas, I started reading about it . . . on the Internet. Luckily, unlike what usually happens when you read up on diseases on the Internet, it didn't sound all that bad. Most sources said you can treat the thing at home. So I waited in my bed for the fever to break. Margaret took care of the kids. Diwali (the Festival of Lights) came and went and I laid in bed most of the time listening to the fireworks, feeling really weird. I read lots of books, including Grandma Funk's book written by Aunt Nancy. Really good reading. I missed Isaac's big United Nations Day Program. Still had a fever.

Finally we went to a doctor Monday, 23 October, and he ordered a blood test and bed rest. By that time I had really achy muscles, and could barely walk up and down the stairs. Felt like I'd run a race, even though I'd been in bed for days. I remember really well we had to take a taxi to get to the doctor and there were several mosquitos flying around in it. Inescapable. Why did I end up being the unlucky one? The weird thing is that I don't even remember having a mosquito bite when I would have been infected.

Anyway, the doctor we had seen was the first one we could get in to at the Max Clinic and we didn't like him much, so we decided to go see our doctor Dr. Monica Mahajan Tuesday, 24 October and see what the blood test results were. She noted some rashes developing on my neck and trunk, and though the blood test still didn't show dengue she suggested I be admitted to the hospital to monitor my platelet count and keep me hydrated. Yuck! I really didn't want to go, but Rich thought it was a good idea, so we agreed. When we got home to get our stuff and say goodbye to the kids I started to get numb in my fingers and hands and started to think maybe this was a good idea after all.

I was in the hospital poked and prodded and bound to my bed for 5 days--the Max Super Specialty Hospital at Saket. The hospital was brand new and very nice. One day they took me downstairs for an ultrasound of my kidneys with a fancy new machine. Later I found out that this hospital is one of the popular ones for the medical tourism that has become so popular lately. People find that it's much cheaper and pretty much equal to travel to India for a big operation or something. Having stayed there as a resident of Delhi, I just don't think it's a good idea. I already feel rather adjusted to India and was stressed about the food and cleanliness. I can't imagine how I would be if I had just flown in for an operation. But whatever floats people's boats. But I digress . . .

The fever finally broke on the 4th day I was there. The IV I was attached to most of the time helped to keep the fever down and made up for the small amount I was eating, partly because of the illness and partly because I was worried about eating the food.

The day after I arrived I started getting the full-on rash and swelling--the very worst part. My hands and feet swelled up to about double their size (almost couldn't get my rings off) and my feet were huge and felt like I was walking on pins and needles if I got up. Most of my body was covered with this bright red, itchy rash. Yuck! So there I was laying in a really uncomfortable hospital bed, mostly sleeping fitfully for days. Rich luckily had a bunch of days off for Diwali, so he faithfully stayed with me during the days and went home to the kids at night.

There's something about having a fever for so long that starts to make you feel a bit crazy. I wondered if it would ever go away. At one point I remember talking to the fever, telling it that I didn't invite it and would it please leave! I knew that once my fever broke and my platelet counts stayed within the normal not-scary range (which they did) I could go home, which was all I wanted once I started feeling better. The kids weren't allowed to visit in the hospital, but Graham came once or twice a day to breastfeed and Isaac and Russell visited once. I missed them so much!

The fever did finally break on Friday, 27 October so Saturday I was released to go home. I did finally test positive for dengue on that morning's blood test. Hooray! I survived! The icky thing I have to worry about now, they say, is that if I get dengue again next year (it's a seasonal thing), it will likely be worse. I'll be better about my mosquito repellant next year, for sure.

The very best result from all of this dengue mess is that my parents got so worried about me that they showed up! They arrived here on 31 October and stayed two weeks. It was great to have them here while I regained my strength. Nothing beats having your Mom and Dad around when life gets really hard. They both played with the kids for hours, told me to go to bed and get my rest, and even washed dishes and cooked.
Dengue didn't kill me, it just stole about 3 weeks of my life from me. Some people ask why, after experiencing dengue, we aren't running back to the USA. I guess that might be the wise thing to do. But we knew when we signed up to live in India that it was risky. Life is anywhere. We also knew (and still know) that this is the right place for our family to be right now, for whatever reason. Dengue didn't kill me, so it must have made me a better (not bitter!) person.