The Dengue Misadventure - A Tale of Two Hospitals

Five days after Irene started having fever, we called up to check with the hospital if there's an available room. None. The hospital asked us to call again after lunch to check. We decided to run to a different hospital expecting better treatment. Irene would've ran out of blood had we waited for a room at that miserable hospital.

On the wall

We arrived at Asian Hospital just before noon and right there I knew Irene would be treated well. While we still had to wait in line, we felt a sense of assurance that things would be better. Irene's vital signs were taken, and after a few questions she was escorted to a bed along the emergency room hallway. A few minutes more a doctor approached us and told us that they will run some tests again just to confirm the results from the previous hospital. I too would've think twice with whatever comes out of that hospital.

About half an hour after, we got the results. Platelet count is at a dangerously low level of 21 x 10^9/L (Normal values at 140 - 440). The attending physician told us that Irene would have to be admitted (We knew this since Monday!) and that an Infectious disease specialist is on the way to check on her. We stayed at the emergency room until a room was available. This was the type of care we were looking for from the previous hospital.

Platelet count dropped from 21 noon time to 15 by 6PM

By 5PM we were already at the 10th floor "checked-in" to a hospital room. The room looks better than some of the 2 to 3-star hotels I have stayed at. We started to feel better about the hospital but at the same time we were told that Irene's condition may still get worse. It did get worse but the team of doctors and nurses would always make their presence felt, making sure that everything is under control.

The hospital late at night

We expected to be discharged by Friday or at the very latest Sunday of that week. We packed clothes for only 3 days. But as fate would have it, this mosquito bite would haunt us for an entire 2 weeks, and a few months more after that figuring out how to pay our hospital bills.

Next: The Dengue Misadventure - The Hospital First Timers