Saturday Night Fever

I woke up on the Saturday morning with an ache in my body and my legs strangely weak whilst staying at the parents home. I needed an Advil so I had to crawl on my hands and knees to the bathroom to get one from my toiletrty bag. This should have been a huge red flag that something was really amiss, but because I have sore feet every morning suffering from plantar fasciitis, I thought it was only a nasty flare up.

By the afternoon I was feeling weaker with every hour , a strange dizziness and nausea creeping in. I had taken the kids to the mall for an ice cream but I hurried them along as I thought I was going to fall over in the mall. We made it home and by 8pm I was having chills , dripping with sweat from fever and my joints were aching like I’d never felt before. A few episodes of vomiting and my night was complete.

Ahh , probably just a 24 hour bug. I had to go to the airport on the bus to pick up my husband. My dad looked at me with pure fear in his eyes , asking me not to get on the bus on the Sunday morning . I shook my head at him , I just need some sleep and I’ll be fine. I got on the bus with some difficulty ( the joints and weakness) and promptly fell asleep for the next 3 1/2 hours. I don’t sleep much at any other time. I hobbled off at Bangkok airport and got a taxi to my hotel using a cart to hold me up.

I checked into the hotel and then fell asleep for another 8 hours. I awoke from fever with parched , dry lips but arms too sore to reach for the water bottle. It was a living nightmare.

Justin arrived at 3am off his flight to find this sniveling crying wreck of a wife , unable to get out of bed on her own , needing to be showered and almost carried to the bathroom. I was miserable.

We got back to Hua Hin on the morning bus and my dad drove us straight to the local hospital, all the while muttering about how he told me not to go. Yes Dad , you were right.

They wheelchaired me to reception , hastily checked me in and to the emergency room. I looked like a wild person , sunken eyes , red faced , hair crazy and frizzy , ready to vomit into a bucket when the beautiful white angelic nurse in her starched uniform , said ‘smile please ‘ for my hospital photo. I heard my dad stifle a laugh behind me knowing I knew how bad I looked and that I was mortified.

An examination , blood tests , pain shot and an anti emetic later , I didn’t feel any better. Trying my best to look around and take notes on how this ER worked for my personal satisfaction ( I am an RN having spent many years working in the ER) but feeling like crap , just couldn’t. I had Justin look around for me. The staff were incredible.

We were discharged within a couple of hours and a diagnosis of either Chikungunya or Dengue fever from an infected mosquito. Both very similar viruses that had recently had local outbreaks, but the Dengue attacks the liver.

I stayed in bed for quite a few days but then an odd swelling of my face , rashes on my arms and legs developed and I was still so weak. Back to the hospital. My liver labs were crazy high. Viral hepatitis.

Again , for anyone fearful of a visit to the Emergency room in a hospital in Thailand , my ‘visit’ cost $300 including meds labs and the doctor. I would have benefited from IV fluids and perhaps a steroid shot ( in my opinion) but wasn’t offered. The follow up appointment was $80-$100 , I think.

It’s been just over 2 weeks now since all of this occurred and I am still tiring easily. My joints are sore at the end of the day , and haven’t quite got my hand strength or grip back yet, but I am just so thankful that it was me that was bitten by that tiny blood sucker and not one of the children. I wouldn’t wish feeling so poorly on my worst enemy.

For those that wondered , we do have mosquito nets , insect repellent and spray out rooms. It’s just one of those things that you cannot 100% protect yourself from. The biggest issue was if a mosquito bit me then one of my family immediately after , it could be transferred that way.

If only my odds of winning the lottery were as high as me being the one to contract this virus. We’d be traveling next year too!

~Arlene