Walang Hanggan - Dengue Awareness

I was watching a teleserye earlier entitled "Walang Hanggan". I don't know if I should have watched it. But  I wanted to find out if I could bear the "truth".

Basically, the lead star in the soap was inflicted with Dengue virus. Although I was not there when you were at the hospital, I could clearly imagine what you went through. Everything came rushing into my head. I don't think I was watching anymore. It was you I could see. But I realized I have to be strong,  so I didn't have the choice but to just keep on watching and just basically suck  it up. The girl started having nosebleed. Her platelet has dropped and she needed blood transfusion. The doctor asked for blood donors, but the person who could possibly donate blood straight away didn't match with her blood type. Kind of what happened when Tito JL volunteered to give you blood, but they found out that his blood type was different from yours. I almost choked  watching the scene. I was not sure if I could carry on. To me it seemed real because I had you in mind. 

I know Dengue can be fatal but I never thought that it could happen to you at all. The likelihood of someone dying from Dengue according to World Health Organization (WHO) is 1% if properly treated. I would like to believe that you were given the right treatment, but I am not sure if it was given at the right time. It doesn't really matter to me now, but I just don't want it to happen to any child anymore. Dengue is a treatable disease and no one should ever die from it. I know I am not in the right position to say or do anything, but what happened to you inspired me to learn more about the disease. Although I have heard that children from the Philippines have died from it in the past, I thought it was just one off because of the epidemic. But I was wrong. Now I know that any child can die from it anytime. It's sad, but it is true.

I don't know what I can do at the moment. But I want to leave this information I found from the WHO website for people to be aware of:

ALWAYS REMEMBER

      Dengue is a serious viral disease transmitted by the bite of the mosquito;

      Dengue infection occurs in two forms: Dengue fever and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever;

      Dengue fever is a severe flu like illness that affects older children and adults but rarely causes death;

      Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) is a more severe form, in which bleeding and occasionally shock occur, leading to death, mostly in children;

      Persons suspected of having dengue fever or DHF must see a doctor at once. Dengue haemorrhagic fever is a deadly disease and early recognition and treatment can save lives. Unless proper treatment is given promptly, the patient may go into shock and die.

      Severe abdominal pains (black stools), bleeding on the skin or from the nose or gums, sweating, cold skin are danger signs. If any one of them is noticed  take the patient to a hospital immediately. Give fluids to drink during transfer to the hospital;

      Give nutritious food and fluids to drink to the patients;

      Dengue mosquitoes bite during the day;

      The patient should be kept under a mosquito net or in a screened room during the period of illness;

      Screen your rooms against mosquitoes or use mosquito nets or use mosquito repellent;

      Discard objects in which water collects, e.g. tins, cans, coconut shells, etc. Do not allow water to collect in pits around your houses. All stored water containers should be covered all the time. This will prevent breeding of Dengue mosquitoes, and

      Doctors and health workers treating cases of dengue fever should also notify the health authorities.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.searo.who.int/en/Section10/Section332/Section1631.htm

As you are an Angel now, please help other children out there who are suffering from Dengue right now. Help them recover fully. And tell Father God to guide them all the way.

I wish one day I can do something to help. 

I miss you anak. Love lots from Mommy.

Mommy Tintin