A CRAZY WEEK AT THE HOSPITAL

This past week I (Eileen) have really put my nursing skills to the test. Monday morning one of our missionaries who had been in the ER the Friday before was still complaining of a bad headache and fatigue. Since all of the Tylenol I had previously given him were gone, he asked if he could take Ibuprofen. I had the sneaking suspicion that he might have Dengue and told him to avoid Ibuprofen. Dengue can affect platelet counts and all Dengue patients are advised to stay away from any NSAIDS to avoid bleeding.

Tuesday morning this Elder’s Zone Leader texted me and said the elder was sick with fever, pain and was also throwing up. Russell and I drove immediately to his apartment to check him out. Last Friday when we took this Elder and his companion to the ER they were both seen and diagnosed with food poisoning. When we returned to the ER on Tuesday, I explained to the ER nurse the elder’s previous visit to the ER and noted his current symptoms which included significant pain behind the eyes (which is a symptom of Dengue). When she told me that he needed to see an ophthalmologist for his eyes I was persistent in saying that I thought he had Dengue.  Sure enough, he was tested, and his lab values indicated he had the disease.  

This Elder was in the ER for 9 hours. During that time, I visited with his Zone Leader who was accompanying him. This is the third hospital visit I have had with this particular Zone Leader and we are getting to know each other quite well.  At one point during the day a lady was rushed into the ER in full cardiac arrest. The staff worked on her just a few feet from us.  We watched the horrified family see their mother and grandmother die. The patient had fallen and hit her head. Her death was totally unexpected. Having just lost both parents, I had tender feelings towards this family.  I kept feeling like I should go talk to them, but hesitated due to the language barrier and also wondering if it would be out of place in a hospital ER. There were several family members at the hospital. One in particular was a woman about the age of my daughters, who I was particularly drawn to. I finally summoned the courage and went to talk with her and offered my condolences. She opened up and we talked for quite a while. I asked her if she believed there was a life after death. She said, “Oh yes” and then explained that her mother-in-law who had just passed away, was quite religious. As we finished our conversation, she gave me a huge hug and offered thanks for the visit. I was grateful for the promptings I received that day both to  bring the elder to the hospital and to speak with this family.

It seems like we have done this before. Once again in the ER.

The elder with Dengue was admitted to the hospital. Russell and I visited each day to check on his status. At one point another missionary who was staying with the elder pulled off his shoe and showed me a rash on the bottom of his foot. It didn’t look good. I took him to the doctor at the hospital clinic. He was diagnosed with Leptospirosis and was put on some pretty strong antibiotics. The good news is that as of today (Sunday), both missionaries have improved significantly and are out doing missionary work.

All missionaries are covered by health insurance while on their mission. I have struggled to figure out how to deal with all the paperwork associated with the Church’s insurance provider here in the Philippines. This past week we had two employees from Maxicare (Aetna’s affiliate in the Philippines) come and explain the process for obtaining medical care within our mission. I appreciated their presentation and hope it will make things a little smoother with medical issues as we go forward.

This was the group involved with the meeting from Maxicare. The two Filipinos in the middle are from Maxicare. They brought us some nice gifts. In return we invited them to join us for a Mexican lunch. President Alder shared a gift with them - A Book of Mormon and committed them to read it. 

Friday, we went and did apartment checks again, this time in Cainta and Taytay.  We have now seen all the apartments/houses within the mission.  The night before the checks, a typhoon hit our area and there was a lot of flooding as we drove to the different apartments. We never look at the forecast as it is always hot, and rains intermittently throughout almost every day. Thursday night we were picking up KFC to bring to the elders at the hospital when a torrential deluge of rain came. Russell dropped me off at the hospital door, so I didn’t have to walk in the rain.  Five seconds in that rain would soak you head to toe.  I guess we were in the middle of the typhoon without even realizing it.  We heard afterward that the area got six inches of rain that day.

I hope our efforts are making a difference to the missionaries in our mission. We love them and want them to be both safe and healthy. My nephew  is serving his mission in Brazil.  He has been quite ill lately. This week as I worked with the missionaries I was thinking about him. As I called the elder's parents in the U.S. to update them on the elder's heath, I was wishing that someone could have done that for my sister regarding her son.

This home was right outside an apartment we were going to rent for the sisters. I was pretty uneasy when we drove up to the front of the apartment.

The apartment actually was better than ours in many ways. They actually have an oven and a real stove here.

Would this dining room table actually be in a missionary apartment?  I guess it will be. Here Russell is negotiating the lease.

Any medical people have any ideas other than the diagnosed leptospirosis?

Apartment stuff ready to be delivered by Russell.

These sisters got the only 10 out of 10 that I have ever given on apartment inspection 

The desks are old, but the apartment was really neat

This was the parking spot while we were inspecting an apartment. We will have some adapting to do when we return to the states.