Tonsilitis in Thailand...
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Last Tuesday morning Paul woke with a sore throat. We were in the village and so he spent most of the day inside resting. Unfortunately, by 7:00 that evening, he had developed a fever of 102°. I gave him some ibuprofen thinking that it would take care of it, but when 45 minutes had passed and his fever had risen to 102.5°, I began to be worried. Luckily, I was able to call friends in Chiang Rai who advised me to do anything and everything to keep that temperature down. So in several minutes, my poor shivering husband found himself lying under wet sheets with his feet in a bucket of ice water and a fan blasting at full speed!
Well, needless to say that night was a long one! The fever never broke, so at 6:00 the next morning we set out on the two hour drive to Chiang Rai. By 9:00 we were in the emergency room at a local hospital. By then his fever had risen to 103°. When the doctor looked at this throat she was visibly shocked! Of course we were expecting the worst, so we were somewhat relieved when the doctor said that he had a severe case of tonsillitis. At least we knew what it was!
He was admitted immediately and they started him on an I.V. The hospital was excellent! The nurses were very sweet and despite the language barriers, Paul felt very well cared for. Our room had a couch, so that I could stay and keep Paul company. We even had a small fridge, to store Popsicles for the sick guy. For the first day or so Paul was pretty much out of it; that fever really took a toll on his body! But after he began to recover a little, we set up our laptop and were able to watch a few movies to stay entertained.
He was released on Saturday morning (after three nights) and he's now recovering well at home! We are so grateful for God's provision through this entire process! It made us think about how easy our lives are compared to the lives of missionaries 50 years ago. Back then you had to hike for days to get in and out of the villages. Something like tonsillitis could have been deadly.
Well, we will be heading back up to the village in a day or so. Please continue to pray for Paul's quick recovery and for continued health for both of us! On the 19th, we'll be heading down to Chiang Mai to bring a little boy named A-Wa, from our village to a special school for the hearing impaired. Please pray for safe travels and for a special comfort as he adjusts to life away from his family and village. Many blessings!
Well, needless to say that night was a long one! The fever never broke, so at 6:00 the next morning we set out on the two hour drive to Chiang Rai. By 9:00 we were in the emergency room at a local hospital. By then his fever had risen to 103°. When the doctor looked at this throat she was visibly shocked! Of course we were expecting the worst, so we were somewhat relieved when the doctor said that he had a severe case of tonsillitis. At least we knew what it was!
He was admitted immediately and they started him on an I.V. The hospital was excellent! The nurses were very sweet and despite the language barriers, Paul felt very well cared for. Our room had a couch, so that I could stay and keep Paul company. We even had a small fridge, to store Popsicles for the sick guy. For the first day or so Paul was pretty much out of it; that fever really took a toll on his body! But after he began to recover a little, we set up our laptop and were able to watch a few movies to stay entertained.
He was released on Saturday morning (after three nights) and he's now recovering well at home! We are so grateful for God's provision through this entire process! It made us think about how easy our lives are compared to the lives of missionaries 50 years ago. Back then you had to hike for days to get in and out of the villages. Something like tonsillitis could have been deadly.
Well, we will be heading back up to the village in a day or so. Please continue to pray for Paul's quick recovery and for continued health for both of us! On the 19th, we'll be heading down to Chiang Mai to bring a little boy named A-Wa, from our village to a special school for the hearing impaired. Please pray for safe travels and for a special comfort as he adjusts to life away from his family and village. Many blessings!
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