Our scary run in with malaria

What a hard month we have had.

April and May have bought A LOT of challenges for us….. but non greater than seeing our little man struck down so suddenly with malaria and a bacterial infection.

I have known and see malaria a lot over the last few years.

I have had it myself before.

I helped nurse my dad when he had an unusual strain over malaria and was so incredibly ill we wondered whether he’d make it through it at times.

It’s a horrible disease and makes you so sick 

And I knew in my head it was deadly especially to children – rob would tell me countless times of the children who would die from malaria that he was treating at hospital.

But I think somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered how so many children could die from it when treatment was available.

Well now I know. 

Hezekiah went from appearing to have a little bit of a cold – to an extremely high fever, extremely dehydrated – constantly vomiting and having extreme diarrhea all in a matter of hours.

To say it was scary how quickly he went down is an understatement.

When Hezekiah started to show signs of a cold, I already had a flu, so suspected he had the same….. I said to Rob lets go back home  ( we were in city to meet with the lawyers etc)….. when your unwell you just want to be in your own environment.

The main reason we were going home was cause I wasn’t feeling great – but by the time we got home and had only been there an hour or so it was very clear Hezekiah was not well at all.

Being that the town we live in is limited in resources and the hospital very old, we either could take him to that or Rob could treat him at home where we at least could be sure it was clean, and where we could stay together the three of us (hospitals are crowded here so no room for mum and dad to really sleep by a child’s bed)

It was clear he was too sick to travel back to the city.

So thankfully Rob was able to run around and pool the resources needed to set up Hezekiah on iv line and treatment, needles, feeding tube and everything he may need.

We had our own little hospital in our little house.

We didn’t leave his side for those first few days – he’s fever was terrible and we were scared for him. 

He had all the symptoms of a child who would not make it through. 

Rob said he lost many children just like Hezekiah

I started to understand how so many children die from malaria.

Children take a long time usually to show they are unwell – and by the time they do with malaria it is urgent.

If you live in a village – or have limited money – these challenges are going to greatly increase the risk that your child would not make it.

By the time you realize your child is sick, you are on borrowed time to get them treatment, some if caught really early will respond well to oral medications, but if you have a child who seems themselves and may just appear to have a cold for the first part of the disease ( like Hezekiah)….. by the time they show they are sick they need iv treatment.

People in villages or not near the resources, would then have to find money for transport, money for accommodation…. Money for medicines…. This all takes time and would often include the time it takes to sell a goat, or cow or something….. and the time ticks away….. meanwhile the malaria is progressing and your child is going downhill quickly…. By the time you do get to the hospital, you may have to wait…. Wait for a doctor in a hospital where they are limited…. Wait for the medications….. wait for a nurse… wait for them to find the resources needed for an iv line.

All the while the clock ticks and your child is now critical. 

To think that if we had waited even a few more hours… or a day….. or if we hadn’t been able to get the resources needed to stabilize him…….. scary….. and that’s the case for millions of families..

Not only in Uganda but all over the world where malaria still kills .

About 3.2 billion people – nearly half of the world's population – are at risk of malaria.

 In 2015, there were roughly 214 million malaria cases and an estimated 438 000 malaria deaths. Increased prevention and control measures have led to a 60% reduction in malaria mortality rates globally since 2000.

Sub-Saharan Africa (this includes UGANDA) continues to carry a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2015, the region was home to 89% of malaria cases and 91% of malaria deaths.

In Uganda malaria is the leading cause of illness and is responsible for up to 40% of all outpatient visits, 25% of all hospital admissions, and 14% of all hospital deaths.

 Currently, 95% of our population is at risk,1 and malaria kills between 70,000 and 100,000 children every year.2 Uganda's high rates of malaria disproportionately affect young children and pregnant women in rural areas who experience extreme poverty, limited access to healthcare services, and lack of education.

 Malaria has negative health and economic effects, and restricts the productivity of our population…..

I have had so many people say they didn’t realize how deadly malaria was – and just what it can do.

We sleep under nets and try and use as much protection on Hezekiah and myself as possible.

People that have lived here a long time or who are older eventually develop an immunity towards it, and if get it get a milder case. 

But children and pregnant women don’t have that immunity. ( pregnancy lowers immunity)

I pray that Hezekiah and I develop a strong immune sytem and immunity towards it quickly.

Sadly Mozzies seem to like me…. And Hezekiah seems to have taken after mummy and not daddy in that regard.

I AM SO INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL THAT ROB IS SUCH AN AMAZING DR….. and for God’s healinG power.

Hezekiah spent almost 1 week critical…. 2 weeks extremely unwell and was back in hospital the second week when they discovered he had a bacterial infection and multiple virus’s as well.

And he was still vomiting and had diarhea at almost 3 weeks. 

Thankfully he now has stopped both of these in the last few days and is starting to gain his appetite back.

He has lost over 3 kgs and is weak but he will regain his strength as he improves. 

It was an incredibly scary ordeal – but has opened my eyes to understanding more of the health challenges here and just

 what malaria can do to children and how quickly.

We are so thankful to all those who prayed - especially in the middle of the night when we had to rush him to hospital in city after second ordeal. 

We thank you for the messages of support and a very special thank you to the person who sent us some extra money after God lead them to - this allowed us to cover all the extra expenses of medications and treatment AND TO BUY DISPOSABLE NAPPIES AND WIPES IN THE CITY - this was much easier and safer than having to hand wash over 10 dirty diarhea nappies everyday - in fact without them I'm not sure what we would have done as it was raining so cloth nappies would not have dried anyways! 

Thank you so much to everyone for their love and support!