Back to Reality

It's the last week in San Antonio and with the family. During my time there, one of the older daughters became seriously ill and was hospitalized for three days. The final diagnosis was Denge Fever. Besides Malaria, the Denge virus is the second most dangerous illness. One gets it by mosquito bites; the virus causes high fever, severe headaches, and back and muscle pain and if not treated bleeding and vomiting. There are different kinds of Denge, ranging from a mild attack to a severe one ending in death if not treated in time. One of our volunteers got sick during our five-week stay and after an initial diagnosis of influenza, she was treated for Denge. The village sprays the roads with pesticide because of the continual outbreak of Denge. Just this week, my dear Dona Lucina and one of her other daughters became sick with Denge. Fortunately, they went to the hospital in San Ignacio and were treated. There is no medical facility in San Antonio - the villagers must travel to San Ignacio about 45 minutes away by bus. The public hospital is crowded, slow in treatment, and poorly run. The family chose to go to the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital which is private and very expensive, but the facility gives better medical care. Unlike our country, villagers do not have medical insurance available and must deal with the high cost of medical care for each crisis.

Dona Lucina and I planned a trip to Spanish Lookout, a Mennonite village, this Saturday, just before I left San Antonio for my permanent site. Hopefully, we can go another time.