The time I had Dengue Fever

I remember visiting a particular ward in a Filipino hospital and asking what everyone was there for. The people all looked so weak, hooked up to drips and seemed disorientated. The nurse said they had Dengue fever. That was the first time I heard of it.

The second time was when a mother at the dump site brought her 6 year old son to church. She said he had a fever. 3 days later  he was dead. He had dengue fever.

Dengue ,also known as "break bone fever" is transmitted from several species of mosquitoes. Some make the comparison to Malaria. During rainy season (June-August) in the Philippines the number of cases increase. The community at the dump site where we are based are at high risk because they are surrounded by stagnant water so much and that's where the mosquitoes breed.

One day after working with the children at the dump site I felt a bit "off". The children are so sweet and like to share and now and again even share their sicknesses with us! But this felt a bit different to me. I had a painful sensation behind my eyes. My muscles and joints were aching and it felt like I was getting the flu. I thought like other things we have picked up there it would clear up on its own.Then I developed a weird looking rash. Kind of like a measles rash that didn't really disappear when you pressed it. I felt rough! I could not stop vomiting and felt weak.  My gums began to bleed.

Off to the hospital we went. Yep- it was dengue!

Ron told me afterwards he was really scared.

After paperwork the doctor put me on intravenous re hydration. They said I was dehydrated and my blood platelet count was dangerously low. If it did not improve I was to get a blood transfusion. Lots of people were praying and I think my poor mama was worried sick at the other side of the world. Long story short, I began to improve and was let out of hospital within a week. I felt really useless for a good few weeks after. I just had no energy. But all was well and that was the end of that. My immune system was able to fight it, but many of the children on the dump site are already weak and undernourished. Their story does not always end like mine....

Every year since we started working in that community we have seen children die from Dengue.

Most parents cant even afford the transport to a hospital never mind the doctors fee.

Imagine you have one child sick, but if you sacrifice a day of work picking trash at the dump site, the rest of your children wont eat that night. What a choice eh?

One year we received the shocking news that 20 children living near the waterside had died from dengue.

20 children.

There is no vaccine against dengue so it's all about prevention. One way we can help is by providing mosquito nets for families.

It costs £1.50 for a single net and £4 for a family sized net.

Many of the families on the dump site earn between 70p- £2 for a whole days work.

In the UK a will pay £1.50 for a can of coca cola

This year we are hoping to provide at least 500 families with a mosquito net. Can you help?
For more info on this please visit:

https://www.facebook.com/KalayaanMinistries

Thank you.