New Year's Blues

Dhezza looking pale and wan on the hospital bed

Its been a harrowing new year for me and my family. On New Year's eve, my sister, Dhezza, became very sick and in a few days, she became so weak that she couldn't even stand on her own. We were very concerned of course so we rushed her to the hospital and they immediately checked her blood platelets since Dengue is quite rampant here in our country.

The first test showed that her platelets were normal so we thought it was just a simple case of the flu. But despite our efforts to lower her body temperature, it still wont go down from 38.5 degrees. So we decided to have her confined to a hospital and we had another test made. This time, her blood platelets were only 40. The normal count should be 200 and above. Then she started to vomit streaks of blood, apparently her gums were bleeding. That is definitely a sign of dengue and apparently she got the worst strain. We were almost in a panic when she started to urinate blood as well.

I work nights so I sleep during the daytime. At around 6pm on January 4, my youngest twin sister, Chit, barged into my room and woke me up. She told me to remain calm but Dhezza definitely has dengue and she needs to have a blood transfusion. To top it all, she needs 10 blood donors ASAP. Then Chit's twin, Fay, also came in weeping carrying Dhezza's baby WHO WAS ALSO SICK and could possibly have dengue too.

I was numb for a few minutes, maybe the shock was too much and imagine being woken up so abruptly and being faced with such horrible news. So I decided to send a text message to my Team Leader to inform him that I would not be able to report to work because of the situation. My sisters stayed home to take care of our niece Yannah and our father, Darrell (my sister's ex-boyfriend and Yannah's dad), and I drove to the hospital. It was a very tense drive, were very silent and everything was grim.

Dhezza's rashes were the worst on her legs, they looked like they were burning

When we arrived at the hospital, I couldn't believe how pale and weak Dhezza have become. She and I has this love-hate relationship, I didn't know how affected I would be after seeing her looking like that. So I couldn't stop myself from crying and I had to go home soon after that. I was supposed to stay there and look after her but in my condition, I couldn't help anybody.

I couldn't donate blood myself since I had a cough back then and I also have a medical condition of my own. I texted all my friends in the hopes of getting anyone to agree to donate blood for her. I had several replies from my friends who seemed willing enough but couldn't donate blood at that time since it was a weeknight and they have work, etc. I was really surprised when one of my officemates, Aki, volunteered to donate blood though she still has a shift that evening. I was so humbled by this. Unfortunately, Aki also has a cough so she cannot donate blood as well.

Well, I never prayed as hard as I prayed after that night. I prayed the rosary and hoped for the best. My niece started having rashes all over her body which is another sign of dengue but luckily hers is milder than what Dhezza has. I started to think, why was this happening to my family? I mean, we were so happy during Christmas and New Year. The timing was so off. Also, I started wishing her illness to be transferred to people who deserves to have it (wicked people, criminals, those people who do evil things to others) but I thought of the old saying "God does not give you trials that you cannot solve." I felt ashamed for having thoughts like that and I just did my best to become strong for Dhezza and my family.

Well, thanks to God help and the kind people around us, Dhezza was able to go home on January 11. She had a little relapse and had to go back to the hospital just hours after she arrived home but thankfully, she just had migraine. Now, we are slowly trying to get it all behind us. Hopefully, nothing like this happens ever again or at least not in the near future.

Dhezza desperately trying to remain cheerful though she was as weak as a kitten

Charmedwishes...
Blessed be!