Sunil"s Touch from God (Page 2)
< Continued from page 1
Now, bone marrow biopsy is a very painful procedure and even the doctors felt bad that it had come to this level. Fortunately, this hospital happened to have the best hematologist in town as their consultant. The hematologist is so busy that he works in several locations during the day and comes to the Apollo Hospital only late in the nights. He came and examined me that night and told me that he would be doing the procedure the next night, on the nineteenth of November.
I clenched my teeth, kept praying in my heart, and waited for the pain. When the doctor said that the procedure was over and that I’d been extremely cooperative, I knew for sure that God had touched me at that moment. I had not felt even the slightest pain.
The next morning they decided to empirically treat me for malaria while they waited for the bone marrow biopsy results, which normally take about 3-4 days. In India it is acceptable to use anti-malarial drugs for any resistant fever even if it is not proven to be malaria. They also decided to start me on another antibiotic which would cover a few conditions caused from exposure to animals like leptospirosis or tick-borne fevers.
(I have a dog at home.) They also stopped the intravenous antibiotics, as I had shown no improvement at all with them.
My doctor discussed my case at a clinical meeting with other physicians who contributed several new suggestions. Some said that I should undergo a lumbar puncture to rule out meningitis. Some said that they should blindly use steroids at least to bring down the temperature, while others said that they should use a certain, very dangerous drug which causes serious complications in some patients, but is very effective against typhoid.
It was definitely God who gave my physician the discretion to wait and not rush into treatment with further harmful medication. At this point they repeated a basic blood test, and found that a test by the name of Paul-Bunnel, which was negative earlier, showed some insignificant positivity. Though insignificant, the infectious disease specialist wanted to do a more specific test.
So, they took blood for a test called "IgM VCA" on the twenty-second day. By now I had become very weak and felt pain in my legs even if I walked just a little bit. On the twenty-third day, since my temperature was only 100 degrees, and since I was only taking oral medication, the doctors decided to discharge me from the hospital. There was nothing more they could other than wait for my temperature to return to normal. They said that I could collect the IgM VCA reports as an out-patient. They were not due for another three days.
Other than treating the symptoms, there is no specific treatment for infectious mononucleosis. None of the antibiotics were actually helpful in curing the fever. At this point, the only thing I can do is get a lot of rest, as the virus can generally cause a great deal of fatigue, which continues even after the fever is gone.
So, by God's grace, and as an answer to the prayers of many, my temperature has remained normal for the past four days. Today I feel weak, but I am sure I will recover quickly.
2 Corinthians 12:9
Each time he said, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me.(NLT)
Now, bone marrow biopsy is a very painful procedure and even the doctors felt bad that it had come to this level. Fortunately, this hospital happened to have the best hematologist in town as their consultant. The hematologist is so busy that he works in several locations during the day and comes to the Apollo Hospital only late in the nights. He came and examined me that night and told me that he would be doing the procedure the next night, on the nineteenth of November.
I Knew that God had Touched Me
When the hematologist came into my room the next night with scrubbed hands, I started to sweat with fear. He gave me some local anesthesia and started drilling into my hipbone. He kept talking to me the whole time to keep me distracted. But, there was one point when he stopped and said, "Sunil, I am sorry, at this point even I can’t help the pain that you are about to experience."I clenched my teeth, kept praying in my heart, and waited for the pain. When the doctor said that the procedure was over and that I’d been extremely cooperative, I knew for sure that God had touched me at that moment. I had not felt even the slightest pain.
The next morning they decided to empirically treat me for malaria while they waited for the bone marrow biopsy results, which normally take about 3-4 days. In India it is acceptable to use anti-malarial drugs for any resistant fever even if it is not proven to be malaria. They also decided to start me on another antibiotic which would cover a few conditions caused from exposure to animals like leptospirosis or tick-borne fevers.
(I have a dog at home.) They also stopped the intravenous antibiotics, as I had shown no improvement at all with them.
My doctor discussed my case at a clinical meeting with other physicians who contributed several new suggestions. Some said that I should undergo a lumbar puncture to rule out meningitis. Some said that they should blindly use steroids at least to bring down the temperature, while others said that they should use a certain, very dangerous drug which causes serious complications in some patients, but is very effective against typhoid.
Some Signs of Improvement
Though my doctor patiently listened to all their suggestions, his decision was to wait until the bone marrow biopsy results were ready. It was at this point, after twenty-one days of fever, when I showed some signs of improvement. Though the bone marrow results showed no abnormality, my temperature started coming down slowly.It was definitely God who gave my physician the discretion to wait and not rush into treatment with further harmful medication. At this point they repeated a basic blood test, and found that a test by the name of Paul-Bunnel, which was negative earlier, showed some insignificant positivity. Though insignificant, the infectious disease specialist wanted to do a more specific test.
So, they took blood for a test called "IgM VCA" on the twenty-second day. By now I had become very weak and felt pain in my legs even if I walked just a little bit. On the twenty-third day, since my temperature was only 100 degrees, and since I was only taking oral medication, the doctors decided to discharge me from the hospital. There was nothing more they could other than wait for my temperature to return to normal. They said that I could collect the IgM VCA reports as an out-patient. They were not due for another three days.
A Diagnosis
Two days after I was discharged, my temperature returned to normal. We collected the report the next day and were surprised to see a very strong positive result for infectious mononucleosis. So, we finally had a diagnosis! Symptoms of infectious mononucleosis are usually sore throat, enlarged lymph nodes and an enlarged spleen together with fever. Since, I did not have any of the other symptoms except for fever, my case was very atypical, making it very difficult for the doctors to diagnose.Other than treating the symptoms, there is no specific treatment for infectious mononucleosis. None of the antibiotics were actually helpful in curing the fever. At this point, the only thing I can do is get a lot of rest, as the virus can generally cause a great deal of fatigue, which continues even after the fever is gone.
So, by God's grace, and as an answer to the prayers of many, my temperature has remained normal for the past four days. Today I feel weak, but I am sure I will recover quickly.
2 Corinthians 12:9
Each time he said, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me.(NLT)
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