Update Pray for Maeo | Thailand

Update on Pray for Maeo

1st October Update

For all of you who have sent emails saying you are praying for Maeo I praise God and thank him for your support. It is 8 pm Sunday and I have just returned from the hospital. Maeo is getting better slowly. She still has a very low fever – 99-99.5. The doctor told her today not to be in a hurry. She is eating a little bit and the vomiting is gone. Our kids, for the most part, go back to school on Monday morning, so I am expecting to do a long shift at the hospital tomorow. Please continue to pray for Maeo and me, and especially our kids as they test this week and our teen leaders attend a seminar in Bangkok next week.   Again, thank you and may God Bless, John and Maeo

29th September Update
For those of you who are praying, thank God and we pray Maeo will recover quickly. As of about 7 pm, Friday, her fever has been reduced some, but not completely. She is unable to eat food without vomiting it up. She still has some pain, but this may also be related to her arthritis and other stuff. The hospital bed looks like the same one that was used when my daughter was born in this hospital about 41 years ago. It is pretty much a flat board with a 1 or 2 inch rubber mat on it.Below is an outline of what a patient’s life is like at Maeo’s level. If you are old or poor or from a village way out it can even be worse. Please pray for Maeo and pray for the care providers – doctors, nurses and everybody else – that they might develop some compassion and understanding for the sick people they take care of.

Bottom line – there are some good doctors and nurses at this hospital, but they are hard to find and they shine out like a light turned on in a dark room.

About 11 AM Saturday. I just returned from the hospital and two of the girls, Ploy and Nun are with Maeo. Nun spent all night and will spend the night tonight, but wanted to stay during the day too. Praise and thank God for the girls. As usual, without them it wold be very, very rough to have someone staying with Maeo 24 hours a day.

Update: Fever has broken as of this morning – it was normal. Her diaharrea has stopped, so two good things. She still is very sore and weak and cannot get up yet to go to the bathroom. The 35 seconds spent with the doctor morning indicates that things are under control and there are no complications, but this thing has to run its course. No guess as to when she will be getting out yet. Pray both for Maeo and the kids taking turns being with her; pray also for the kids and their exams.Thank you for your prayers and may God Bless. John

A day in the life of a patient at Nakhon Phanom Provincial Hospital.

To put things into perspective for those of you who are praying. This hospital is about 600-700 beds, I think. It is missing several specialties, so sometimes you are sent elsewhere

My wife came in to see the doctor for flu? fever? not sure what. She arrived at the hospital about noon, if I remember correctly. By three pm she had seen a doctor – Internal Medicine? – Diagnosis was: Not sure, there are some irregularities in her blood so we will keep her here to do more tests. Now, if you are staying in this hospital, you also have to have a relative with you. I went with Maeo to the ward and her son and daughter-in-law ran all around the hospital processing the paperwork; including a trip to the pharmacy to get the medications she would be using in the ward. The relative is the gopher for everything, including getting food, taking to the bathroom, giving baths and anything else that needs to be done.

One of our students, some may know, volunteered to remain with Maeo over night. Nun had a choice – she could spread a straw mat on the floor and sleep almost under the bed – there is a space about 1 yard wide between the wall and the bed. Her other choice was to sleep sitting up in a plastic chair. Once settled in, her daughter-in-law went out and bought water, a glass, hygiene things and adult pampers – none of this is provided by the hospital. Materials for sponge bathing were also purchased.

She was admitted on Thursday afternoon, and the doctor came around to see her about 9 am Friday morning. Results were more testing – they are thinking it may be some kind of bacteria, so they are trying to grow it to identify.

Nakhon Phanom has a nursing college close by, so 95% of the nursing work is done by these girls. The nurses walk around, for the most part, asking questions. They must not talk to each other, because different nurses come around asking the same questions.

At meal times the relative goes to the meal station and picks up the tray for their sick relative and takes it back to them and feeds them, if necessary. No relative on hand? The patient may not eat.

Until recently there were no window or door screens and none of the patient wards are air conditioned. Nursing stations and rooms used by nurses, for the most part, are air conditioned and most have TV. If a patient wants AC and a TV they have to be in a private room and pay for it.

At a facility like this, you immediately see the class structure in operation. Pray also that God will change the attitudes of hospital staff so they are more in tune with patient needs instead of themselves.