New Hospital
It was a sleepless night for me. I managed to doze off for about 20–30 minutes at a time. I wasn’t feeling bad physically—I just couldn’t stop worrying about Angie. I wanted to call her so many times during the night, but I knew she needed rest.
Kyndal slept soundly next to me, and we moved a mattress into our room so Braden could be close too. First thing this morning, I took Angie some toast and jelly along with juice and water. We were waiting on the results of her dengue test.
After speaking with the doctor about her diagnosis, she asked me what I wanted her to do next. I didn’t hesitate:
“Get her to somebody who knows what to do.”
Don’t worry—I was diplomatic and kind. I asked her to write a referral letter for a specialist on the main island, and we made the decision to move Angie to a private hospital.
Everyone I spoke with had told me the same thing—get her to the private hospital on the main island.
When I ran into my friend from the police station (if you don’t know how we met, read the Really, Really Tough Day post), he asked for a number from my stolen phone. I told him about Angie, and the entire police department sprang into action. They arranged a police speedboat—at no cost to us.
You can imagine: Braden was in heaven.
The island’s only police car came to our house to pick us up and take us to the dock. We had to check Angie out of the hospital, but the speedboat wouldn’t be ready for a couple of hours. The sea was rough, and the standard water taxi ride (usually 30 minutes) just didn’t feel safe for her. The speedboat, on the other hand, made the trip in five minutes flat.
As we boarded, the officer held Kyndal on the dock and then tossed her to me in the boat. She was a little freaked out (the waves had the boat bouncing all over), but we had everything under control.
Once we landed, we waited at the police station while they tried to get us a taxi. But it was raining, and all the taxis were busy. So they loaded us into a police van and took us straight to the hospital. I’m pretty sure this entire day was Braden’s dream come true. I plan to write a letter to the Chief of Police to tell him what honorable, kind men he has on his team. I was deeply impressed.
Now, back to Angie.
Her fever spiked as high as 104° last night. They ran the dengue test today and confirmed that she does, in fact, have dengue fever. Her platelet count dropped from 68,000 yesterday to 32,000 today. That’s low.
We’ve checked into the private hospital now. Yes, it’s more expensive—but still far less than what it would cost back in the States. The attending physician had dengue himself just two weeks ago. He speaks excellent English and studied in India, Kuwait, and Russia. We feel very confident under his care.
We also spoke with our insurance provider’s PCP, who gave us more insight into dengue and the concerns with a falling platelet count. He also outlined what the doctors here should be doing, and thankfully, they’re already on it.
The good news is that Angie hasn’t had another high fever since last night. She’s acting like she feels much better today. I wish I had more to share, but for now, we wait—and we keep praying.
I truly believe your prayers—offered during your day, while we were trying to sleep—have been heard. Angie is improving, and we are incredibly thankful for the healing touch of the Great Physician.
The kids and I are staying in a hotel on the main island now. That means AC and warm water tonight—Yippee! I really believe Angie is over the worst of it. Now we just wait for her to regain her strength.
Please don’t stop thinking about us. I’ll keep updating as often as I can.
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