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October 7, 2005
Plague in Town
LOCATION: Bogor, Java
SEE WHERE WE ARE - NEW!
NAUTICAL MILES KAYAKING: 849
STANDARD MILES BIKING: 714.1
The plague has hit expedition camp with both Chris and April laid out horizontal the past 48 hours, possibly with the same illness.
The visit to the local doctor here in Bogor by April and I the day before yesterday proved inconclusive, not least because we couldn't communicate properly with the Doctor due to language problems, and the examination had to be supervised by a female nurse which added a further layer of complexity.
It also turned out that they didn't have the equipment to test her blood for classic Dengue Fever anyway, instead making just a visual inspection of the blood vessels in her arm for evidence of the more serious, and potentially fatal, hemorrhagic version, which we at least now know she doesn't have.
But with Chris coming down with similar symptoms, those of chronic diarrhea, fever and muscle and joint fatigue, it lends weight to the theory that this is perhaps an intestinal infection (that Chris has now caught off April) rather than Dengue. But nothing seemed any clearer this morning and seeing as April has had this on and off for the past 9-days, it was time for another approach.
This morning I decided to phone our 'on-call' expedition doc Sharon Kessler in Pueblo, Colorado for advice. I first made her acquaintance remotely (via satphone) on the Pacific ocean with what turned out to be blood poisoning from infected salt sores (which she diagnosed from 8,000 miles away - not bad!). So it was fitting that her expertise in remote patient care be employed again, and ironically her advice, as on the Pacific all those years ago, was to put both April and Chris on the broad spectrum antibiotic 'Cipro' that our friends Johnny and Julie Andron kindly bought on the cheap in Mexico earlier this year.
A real downer of a way for both April and Chris to end their respective trips. But it is what it is, and I suppose we have to be thankful of small mercies that no one got sick in any of the really remote areas of Indonesia we've been traveling through these past 5-months.
Chris will try biking with me to the west coast of Java tomorrow, but having been unable to hold anything in for so long he may not have the energy to make the last 160kms by Sunday evening. April has decided wisely to retire to Jakarta tomorrow rather than risk further dehydration, and spend her last few days resting up and getting packed ready for her flight to Singapore Tuesday evening.
Posted on October 7, 2005 12:31 PM
Comments
I really wish you all well, speedy recoveries and hope the Cipro works. Having had both amoebic dysentery and dengue (not at the same time I hasten to add!) - it sounds like one or the other. You probably know that Dengue is also known as 'Breakbone Fever' mainly because your joints stiffen and hurt so much that they really do feel like they will break. It comes on extremely quickly and is accompanied by a raging and extremely debilitating fever that is difficult to control. I have recently read of an increased prevalence of Dengue in SE Asia currently. As little as five cases constitutes an outbreak - try to check this out if you can. Antibiotics won't work for Dengue - the most vital and important thing to do is to control the fever. This can be done with bog-standard regular doses of Paracetemol, lots of fluid and rest. Things can get complicated with Dengue if you don't. You probably know all this already but I wanted to impart the knowledge I have of the illness in case it helps! I hope you all stay safe and well. Take great care now.
Astrid xx
Posted by: astrid at October 10, 2005 1:10 AM
i'm sorry to hear april's stil unwell. jason, pls pass april my cell phone no. she can call me if she needs some help. i'd like to extend my personal assistance. thanks.
Posted by: jeanne at October 7, 2005 9:12 PM
Sorry to hear the bad news. So, is it now just two guys heading west and where do you go from there? Are you going to try and do Sumatra, or head north to Singapore? I'd vote for a bike ride up to Bukitinggi then up to Toba and finally Medan, then the ferry across to Penang, and bike south to Singapore, then up the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia and into Thailand.
Why Cipro? Seems like a very generalized prescription for an undiagnosed illness. BTW, few people actually get sick in Indonesia or elsewhere in SE Asia, so you've just had some extraordinarly bad luck. But general illness from bad food or water generally only lasts a few days, so something else is going on.
Posted by: Carl Parkes at October 7, 2005 5:27 PM