Ken returned from 2 weeks in the USA and when he got home he immediately started running a high fever (103.5F, 39.7C) . This continued for 3 days along with severe muscle and joint pain when a rash appeared. We took him to the doctor and they diagnosed an "exotic" fever, likely dengue. They ran blood tests and told him to come back the next day to repeat the test. The fever went away and we went to do the follow up blood work. Later that day we received a call to come to the ER IMMEDIATELY. When we arrived they said his platelets were critically low and he would need to be admitted and we needed to call people to get volunteers to donate platelets. The hospital did a second test of the blood to manually confirm the numbers and it came in even lower.
At this point is when the panic starts set in and all the worst cases come to mind but you have to function to get things done. My closest family member would take a minimum of 24 hours by plane to arrive. I have only lived in the country for 12 months so there are no friends of many years to fall back on, only people I have met recently. Thankfully, I knew I had a handful of friends I could rely on and I gave one of them a call to make sure my children were taken care of and I asked her to call our other friends and let them know what was going on. Next, I contacted Ken's work and informed them of the situation and we would need people to come to the hospital and donate blood. What happened next was truly an overwhelming outpouring of support. Within an hour we had 15 people from Ken's work and several teachers and parents from my children's school ready to come to the hospital. Some of the volunteers were friends of friends we have never met. We had so many people praying for us and willing to do whatever we asked to help us through that I in awe. I started to realize that no matter what happens in this country, I have true friends that have become like family to help me through. My school friends will ensure my children are safe, secure and loved when I can not, my Indians friends will make sure I know how to navigate the system, and both sets of friends will ensure I have any other support I need, even if it is to simply sit with me in the waiting room of a hospital through the night.
Thankfully, this was just a test and not a real emergency. I was starting to prepare for several days in hospital when we were informed of inconsistencies in the blood work and when it was all said and done, it was a lab error and his platelets, while low, were not critically low and we were allowed to go home that night. From the time we got to the ER to the time we returned home was only 9 hours but it was the longest 9 hours of my life. I would like to thank all of my friends, and friends of friends who lent their support to me and my family. As I sit here and reflect on the events of yesterday it brings tears to my eyes. I will always remember this as the best worst day in India.
At this point is when the panic starts set in and all the worst cases come to mind but you have to function to get things done. My closest family member would take a minimum of 24 hours by plane to arrive. I have only lived in the country for 12 months so there are no friends of many years to fall back on, only people I have met recently. Thankfully, I knew I had a handful of friends I could rely on and I gave one of them a call to make sure my children were taken care of and I asked her to call our other friends and let them know what was going on. Next, I contacted Ken's work and informed them of the situation and we would need people to come to the hospital and donate blood. What happened next was truly an overwhelming outpouring of support. Within an hour we had 15 people from Ken's work and several teachers and parents from my children's school ready to come to the hospital. Some of the volunteers were friends of friends we have never met. We had so many people praying for us and willing to do whatever we asked to help us through that I in awe. I started to realize that no matter what happens in this country, I have true friends that have become like family to help me through. My school friends will ensure my children are safe, secure and loved when I can not, my Indians friends will make sure I know how to navigate the system, and both sets of friends will ensure I have any other support I need, even if it is to simply sit with me in the waiting room of a hospital through the night.
Thankfully, this was just a test and not a real emergency. I was starting to prepare for several days in hospital when we were informed of inconsistencies in the blood work and when it was all said and done, it was a lab error and his platelets, while low, were not critically low and we were allowed to go home that night. From the time we got to the ER to the time we returned home was only 9 hours but it was the longest 9 hours of my life. I would like to thank all of my friends, and friends of friends who lent their support to me and my family. As I sit here and reflect on the events of yesterday it brings tears to my eyes. I will always remember this as the best worst day in India.
